You have been warned — upgrade your phone now.
AFP via Getty Images
Samsung’s security update this month is more complicated than usual. The headline “critical” Android fix does not apply to any of its phones — it’s Android 16 only. It’s unclear when a number of exploited Qualcomm vulnerabilities were fixed. And it’s hitting just as all user attention if more focused on the One UI 8 upgrade.
In amongst all that noise, there’s a warning for millions of Galaxy owners. As spotted by SamMobile, “three popular mid-range phones from Samsung” have dropped off the update schedule. “The company has now updated the list to confirm that software support for these devices will no longer be available.”
The Galaxy A22, Galaxy M32 and Galaxy F22 and now “outdated,” and as SamMobile points out, “it’s no surprise that Samsung will no longer provide any support for them.”
While ending support for older phones is to be expected, it’s a huge issue. As many as 1 billion Android phones are now out of support, creating a huge security issue for users and the companies they work for, if they connect those phones at work.
Google recently ended Android support for Android 12 and also upgraded its Play Integrity API to restrict how apps function on those older phones. While the 700 million Windows 10 users have generated plenty of headlines as support comes to an end. This even greater number of Android users at risk gets much less attention.
If you have one of the three impacted Samsung Galaxy models or any phone that is running Android 12 or older, then it’s time to stump up for an upgrade.
That doesn’t mean an expensive new flagship, but it does mean something that is eligible for Android updates and ongoing manufacturer support.
Such is the state of the mobile threat landscape, it’s not worth taking the risk of leaving a device exposed to attack. This year we have seen multiple Android vulnerabilities that have been exploited in the wild. The threat is very real.
Per SamMobile, “if you own one of these devices, this means that there will be no more updated, no Android OS upgrades and no security maintenance releases from Samsung. It would probably be best to think about upgrading your phone now as you’d otherwise be left without the protection of the latest security patches.”