Samsung’s Update Decision—Bad News For Millions Of Galaxy S24 And S23 Owners

Updated on November 5 with release of new security update to more flagships.

Samsung and Google are on a mission to catch iPhone, at least when it comes to the security and privacy of Android's huge number of users worldwide. Google's big push comes by way of Android 15 with a raft of new updates, while Samsung is arguably doing more, clamping down on sideloading, defaulting to maximum restrictions and pushing its Knox ecosystem as an alternative to Apple's equivalent.

But there's one area where the gap between Samsung and iPhone remains as big as ever—security updates. While Android pushes a monthly cycle as opposed to Apple's as and when, users must wait for specific updates by model, region and carrier, and not everyone get the monthly update, with many on a quarterly or worse cycle.

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This is another area where Google is pushing a fix. With seamless updates, Google explains , "OTA updates can occur while the system is running, without interrupting the user. Users can continue to use their devices during an OTA... After an update, rebooting takes no longer than a regular reboot."

Not for Samsung users though. While earlier this year it seemed Samsung was finally jumping onboard this easier and simpler update system, and had even addressed the everyone, everywhere, all at once challenge solved by Apple, that hasn't happened. As Android Authority explains, "Google has offered seamless updates on Android for a while now, drastically speeding up the system update process. Unfortunately, Samsung's flagship phones don't support this option."

As I reported in March, it did look like this was being addressed at long last , initially for owners of A55 devices. But that, it now seems, may have just been a tease. There has been nothing more since. And for owners of the most recent S24 and S23 flagships, the bad news is that it's "the Galaxy S25 series [that] could finally offer seamless updates," Android Authority reports, based on a new leak on X .

The issue, as the website says, is that while "these wouldn't be the first Samsung phones to offer seamless updates, as the Galaxy A55 5G reportedly offered this functionality earlier this year, these would be the first flagship Galaxy phones with this feature." Which is a serious issue for today's owners of expensive phones.

"The older method used on the Galaxy S24 line," says Phone Arena , "is a full-system reboot that requires the device to completely restart which is a process that can take minutes. During that time, the new software is installed on the phone and when it is all done, the device reboots with the new software installed. This method is considered less efficient and more of a disruption to the user."

Clearly this is not confirmed, but what we do know is that seamless or any form of regular all at once updating remains a critical missing feature for Samsung owners. This is exacerbated by Google flexing its muscles when it coms to its own control over hardware and software with Pixels, something Samsung cannot match while it remains dependent on the broader Android ecosystem.

And that's also why Samsung users remain in wait and see mode for Android 15, albeit the long-awaited One UI 7 may be just a few days away, at least in beta form . The other current issue for some Samsung users is a critical Qualcomm vulnerability, that may or may not be fixed in this month's security release.

As I have commented before, Samsung's phones can match Apple's in almost all areas and has been brilliantly tightening the security and privacy of its devices, but this update anomaly should be fixed. Until then, Apple has the edge.

I have asked Samsung for confirmation of these latest update leaks.

Meanwhile, the existing update routine continues. As SammyFans reports, "after the Galaxy Tab S7 FE, Samsung has started releasing the November 2024 security update for the latest Galaxy S series, the Galaxy S24."

This is the latest SMR per Samsung's update schedule and advisory . There are no formal details yet for November's update, and it is still on limited release to specific models, regions and carriers—the usual update cycle for others will follow.

SammyFans says the latest release is just available for locked models on the Verizon network carrier in the US," and that "Samsung Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 Plus, and Galaxy S24 Ultra models are receiving the November 2024 security update in the US with One UI builds and S928USQS4AXJA."

The update for unlocked models and those locked to other US carriers will follow shortly, we assume. "The fresh update provides the most up-to-date Android security patch on your device to improve performance. It fixes several issues to make your Galaxy S24 more stable, reliable, and secure."

Given that the prospect of Samsung's forthcoming S25 being the first flagship to grab Google's seamless A/B security updates has generated headlines, it will be interesting to see if there are any changes to the pace and stretch of the monthly updates. It's certainly unusual to see updates coming before the new month is underway, and before any details are rereleased. But here we are.

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There is also the twist that the latest Qualcomm chipsets patches should be out this month for Android and ideally for Samsung as well, albeit it often delays such third-party hardware updates for a further month post Android's update. We will know more when the advisory is released and I will provide an update here.

Samsung told me it "takes security issues very seriously," and that "we are aware of the report regarding potential vulnerabilities in some of Qualcomm's chipsets and have been working with Qualcomm to address this issue. We have started rolling out security updates since October, but updates may continue being released at a later date, which will vary by network provider or model. We always recommend that users keep their devices up-to-date with the latest software updates."

A few days on from that Samsung update, and details of their November security update have just been released—as warned, it does not seem that the Qualcomm fix is included, albeit there is another, newer Android zero-day that has just been disclosed by Google and which is addressed.

The good news for Samsung flagship owners is that they seem to be getting up[dated before Pixels, notwithstanding that Pixels are getting the full suite of fixes and they may not.

"Just a day after releasing the November 2024 update for the Galaxy S24, Android Police reports, "Samsung has rolled out the same security patch for Galaxy S23 users in the US. It's impressive to see Samsung delivering updates so promptly — especially before Google's own Pixel devices."

Meanwhile, SamMobile reports that the update that had been restricted to US users with Verizon plans has not been extended further afield. "Yesterday, Samsung released its newest security update to its most recent flagship phone, the Galaxy S24. However, the update was earlier available only in the US. Now, the update has reached more countries to make the Galaxy S24 series more secure."

From a security standpoint—beyond the usual array of fixes, the interesting news is that this update "brings improvements to the Auto Blocker feature. When it is set to the Maximum Restrictions setting, no USB devices (except for chargers) will work when connected to the Galaxy S24." This is a nifty add-on and makes it harder for so-called juice-jacking attacks, whether myth or reality, which threaten to exfiltrate device data under the guise of a normal charging connection.

Samsung has now defaulted to maximum restrictions for new devices, a big step, especially as it further clamps down on sideloading apps, in line with the raft of warnings we have seen in recent months from Google as it heads a little more slowly in the same direction.

While that's the good news, the further bad news is that Android 15 continues to rollout more widely, with Samsung still the major missing link. News in the last 24-hours that " Xiaomi has initiated the rollout of the stable Android 15 update for its flagship Xiaomi 14 smartphone in both global and European Economic Area (EEA) regions ." This remains a beta for now, but that's a start.

This isn't the first month we've seen two zero-days patched in a single Android release, it's also not the first time we've seen serious Qualcomm vulnerability patches deleted in reaching Samsung phones. While the deployment of seamless updates with the S25 will make the update process more efficient, it won't fix the contents of the update itself. That remains subject to the Google/Android OEM tie-up.

What has become increasingly clear in the last 12-months is that Google has a material advantage when it comes to securing and updating devices, controlling as it does both the hardware and core OS software of its Pixel range. Samsung will always lag behind to some extent.

With Apple's iPhone being the primary competitive target, with its lock-tight control of its own hardware and software being a major USP, this could become a more material issue over the next few years—especially if Pixel sales continue surge as they're doing now post the Pixel 9 launch.

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According to 9t05Google ., "Google Pixel reportedly sees 3x growth in North America in just one month – is it too good to be true?" While the October data from StatCounter shows that "Google Pixel now makes up a whopping 12.9% of the North American market, up from a mere 4.76% in September. That beats out Motorola, and makes up over half of Samsung's share as well," there remains some skepticism and to the accuracy of the data. Even so, it's clearly flying from shelves.

'We'd still be surprised if the data here is fully accurate," 9to5Google says, "but even if it's only partially true, it represents massive growth on Google's part, and it's clear that Google is starting to make an impact on its home turf."

In my view, when added to the new private cloud compute dimension being pushed by Apple, where cloud-based AI is a secure extension of on-device AI, and again promotes the tight alignment between hardware and software, this becomes a challenge for Samsung and its flagship push.