Samsung Schools Rival Phone Makers By Issuing Android 11 To Older Handsets
It can be frustrating to purchase a smartphone, only to have the manufacturer drag its feet with updates a year or so later. Be that as it may, this is something that happens way more often than it should. We have good news for Galaxy Note 10 owners, though—Samsung has begun pushing out its Android 11-based One UI 3.0 update to Galaxy Note 10 phones, which brings with it some neat Android 11 features.
The Galaxy Note 10 launched a little over a year ago, in August 2019. We posted our own Galaxy Note 10 Plus review that same month. Now just over a year later, it is still a great smartphone with a big and beautiful 6.8-inch display and solid all-around performance (including the cameras), wrapped in a gorgeous design and finish.
Software is key to the experience, though, and to that end, the folks at SamMobile say Samsung has released the Android 11-based One UI 3.0 update in stable form to Galaxy Note 10, Galaxy Note 10+, and Galaxy Note 10+ 5G handsets in certain territories (firmware version N97xFXXU6ETLL). The same update was recently rolled out to the Galaxy S20, Galaxy Note 20, and other high-end phones.
Android 11 features like chat bubbles and a media playback widget are included, but so are some unique One UI bits—Samsung refreshed the user interface, improved the Dynamic Lockscreen, beefed up performance and security, and more.
According to the site, first dibs goes to Germany, Spain, and Switzerland. However, other territories are likely to follow soon. It also stands to reason that other phones will be added the mix, like the Galaxy Z Fold and Flip handsets.
It's nice to see Samsung staying relatively on top of things. In contrast, Motorola recently announced it would soon serve up an Android 11 update to a bunch of phones, though some 2019 models are left completely out of the mix. Going back further, no phones released in 2018 made the list that Motorola shared either.
That is notable because both Samsung and Google have committed to three years of OS and software updates for their phones. To that end, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL released in 2017 recently received its final update. And now Samsung is beginning to push out Android 11 to older phones. Hopefully other phone makers take note.
