The December 2020 patch is now already rolling out for the Galaxy S9 and S9+, maintaining Samsung’s vastly improved update track record throughout 2020.
Given that the Pixel series is yet to receive the latest patch, it’s great to see the world’s biggest smartphone OEM getting older devices such as the Galaxy S9 and S9+ up-to-date and secure ahead of the holiday season. Now it’s worth noting that OEMs do have access to the patches way ahead of time, so while it’s impressive, it should really be expected rather than being an edge-case.
However, if you do have the Galaxy S9 or S9+, then the December 2020 security patch should now be rolling out (via SamMobile). Firmware build numbers G960FXXSCFTK2 and G965FXXSCFTK2 are now heading out, although we believe these are Exynos-specific builds for the S9 and S9+ respectively.
Both devices were updated to One UI 2.1 earlier this year and have since been updated to the latest One UI 2.5 update. It’s not entirely clear if the Galaxy S9 or S9+ will get updated to Android 11 in the form of One UI 3.0 but the December 2020 security patch is an indication that monthly patches show no signs of slowing ahead of support being removed fully in 2022.
From early-2021, the Galaxy S9 series will drop from monthly patches to quarterly — coinciding with three years since the device hit shelves across the globe. From March 2021 onwards, it is expected to drop to quarterly patches until March 2022. From this date, only major exploits will be patched.
Back in the here and now, should you have the Galaxy S9 or S9+, you should be able to pull the December 2020 security patch by heading to Settings > System updates and hitting refresh. That said, your OTA update may take a while due to regional localizations, etc.
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Author: Damien Wilde
Source: 9TO5Google
