Google has released Android 10 to its customers, and Samsung plans to launch its Android 10 beta program in October. Now, the list of Android 10-eligible Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets has surfaced. You can see the Samsung Android 10 update list below, courtesy of AndroidPure.
Android 10-eligible Samsung Galaxy phones
The list of Android 10-eligible Samsung Galaxy phones starts with the high-end Galaxy S and Galaxy Note series. The Galaxy S9, S9+, and Galaxy S10e, Galaxy S10, and Galaxy S10+ are, obviously, Android 10-eligible. The Galaxy S9 series is just a year old, which means that S9 users are still entitled to another year of updates (system updates) and two additional years of Android security patches. The Galaxy S10 series was just announced this Spring and is entitled to its two years of Android system updates and three years of security patches.
Galaxy S8 users are out of luck here, as there is no Android 10 update planned for the two-year-old Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.
Next on the list of Android 1o-eligible Samsung Galaxy phones is the Galaxy M series, a new series from the South Korean juggernaut released just this year. The Galaxy M10, M20, M30, M30s, and M40 are all eligible for the Android 10 update. Again, these are new phones in a new phone series, so, there’s that.
The Galaxy A series makes the cut, though there are veteran Galaxy A phones and new Galaxy A phones making the Android 10 update eligibility list. The Galaxy A10e, A20, A20e, A30, A30s, A40, A50, A50s, A60, A70, A80, and A90 are all new phones from Samsung. The Galaxy A9 Pro from this year (2019) makes the cut, which is standard and expected. The Galaxy A9, Galaxy A7, A6, A6+, A8, A9 Star, and A9 Star Lite make the update-eligible list as well, phones released on the market in 2018.
Scrapped Galaxy J series will get the update as well
Samsung’s reinvigorated Galaxy A series is said to have replaced the Galaxy J series with its affordability, and Samsung has stopped manufacturing the Galaxy J line. In its place comes the Galaxy A series, but Samsung is still committed to its Galaxy J customers. The Galaxy J8, J6, J6+, J4, J4+, J7 Duo, J7 (2018), J5 (2018), and Galaxy J3 (2018) have all made the Android 10 eligibility list. Again, it’s clear that the latest J series phones come from last year (2018), with no 2019 models in sight (the J series has been scrapped completely). All the Galaxy J phones making the cut arrived on the market in 2018, so there are no J series phones from 2017 on the list.
Some tablets are on the list too
With so many phones getting the Android 10 update, one wonders if tablets make the list. They do, though the tablet-eligible list is shorter, far shorter, than the phone list.
The only Android 10-eligible Samsung Galaxy tablets are this year’s Galaxy Tab S5e, the Galaxy Tab S4 from last year, and the Galaxy Tab A 2018 and Tab A 2019 models. The Galaxy Tab S4 is the flagship tablet from 2018, while the Tab A (2018) is the budget-friendly model from last year. The Galaxy Tab S5e was announced alongside the Galaxy S10 series this Spring, and the Tab A (2019) is a refresh of the budget-friendly 2018 model.
Samsung Android 10 eligibility list: no 2-year-old phones allowed
From the list itself and the ages of the devices above, an interesting fact emerges: there are no two-year-old Samsung Galaxy phones receiving the Android 10 update. That’s a hard pill to swallow for Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 fans, for example, who I’ve been told are complaining currently because of the news surrounding Samsung’s Android 10 eligibility list.
Some Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 users feel cheated because they think they’re entitled to the new Android 10 update, but the update process needs a little clarification for Samsung Galaxy customers. If you own a Galaxy S8 or Galaxy Note 8, you’ll recall that your device was announced on the market in 2017.
You may think that you have the rest of the year, a few more months of system updates and thus, deserve the Android 10 update, but that’s not how Samsung’s process works. When the Galaxy S8 and Note 8 series were announced, both devices received Android 8.0 Oreo; Android 9.0 Pie didn’t land until that Fall, possibly just before the Galaxy Note 8 launch, and both series received Android Pie the following Spring (2018).
This year, Android 10 has landed, but Samsung is only responsible for system updates through the end of the year. Since Android 10 just landed this month (September), and Samsung’s Android 10 beta program won’t begin until October (according to rumor), the new update won’t be ready until 2020, perhaps just as the Galaxy S11 is soon to arrive on the market. As a result, the 2017 phones are only update-eligible through 2019, not through 2020 — even if they only receive one full system update instead of two. Both series will continue to see security patches through the end of 2020, but there’ll be no new system updates. It’s the EOL (“End Of The Line”) for the “8s” getting Android system updates.
In short, “two years of system updates” equates to two years from the year the phone is announced, which means that the two Android system updates Samsung counts are 1) the system update that arrives with the phone and 2) the new system update the phone receives. Some Samsung customers are upset because they think of “two system updates” as two additional system updates on top of the original system update pre-installed on the phone, but again, Samsung isn’t under any duress to add another system update.
While it’s good to see the Samsung Android 10 update list make its way into the public eye, it’ll be even better to see Samsung Galaxy customers receive the new update. Hang in there though, it’ll be a while.