Just a few days after the Pixels
Samsung has come a long way since its TouchWiz days when it was frequently criticized for its slow software deployment. The company has managed to set a new benchmark by updating all of its recent flagships and mid-range devices to Android 12 / One UI 4 in record time and surpassing its own schedule. However, the Korean smartphone maker is in no mood to slow down and has now released the January 2022 security patch for the Samsung Galaxy S21 series.
SamMobile reports that the security patch with BULF firmware is available for all three S21 variants in the Netherlands only at the moment. Based on the company’s track record, a larger rollout is expected in the coming days. In addition to the security fixes, the changelog also mentions “overall feature stability”. That in itself doesn’t mean much, but I hope Samsung fixed all the bugs reported by Galaxy S21 owners after installing the Android 12 update.
The S21 series was the first in the Samsung lineup to receive the Android 12 update last November. The initial version was retired after a few weeks due to some bugs, but the company quickly fixed them and resumed deployment in December. The January 2022 patch is the first update it receives after this, so it should feature some improvements under the hood. You can check if the update is available for download on your Galaxy S21 by going to Settings> Software update> Download and install.
Samsung is generally faster than Google at updating its flagship devices to the latest monthly security patch. While the latter managed to roll out the January 2022 update a few days before the Korean smartphone giant this time around, its flagship phones – the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro – should not receive the patch until the end of January. So despite the delay, Samsung once again managed to beat Google by rolling out the monthly security patch to its flagship devices. It’s also important to note that the S21 series isn’t the first Samsung device to receive the January 2022 patch, as the mid-range Galaxy A51 received it last week.
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