NOTICE: We’ve created an archive of all major developments related to the Samsung Galaxy S10 lineup. We are continuously updating that page with latest S10e/S10/S10+ news so that you don’t need to search for information related to the device on daily basis. Head here to access that page.

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Shipping a 100% feature-complete gadget makes little sense in terms of product development and marketing. Except for mission critical applications, vendors prefer to provide bug fixes as well as feature improvements via software updates for a selective period of time.

The length of that time period, however, is not constant. Depending on the urgency of the fix and the popularity of the target device, companies dynamically adjust the support window. And yes, we have seen some weird consequences of rushed out updates in past.

xkcd_tesla_spacex
Image source: what if #142

Google is closely working with hardware vendors to come up with a proper and definite update strategy for every device running Android. Google’s own Pixel lineup of phones are set to get updates for at least 3 years from when the device first became available on the Google Store.

Being one of the largest Android smartphone makers, Samsung is obliged to have something similar. In fact, they have this monthly security update policy for a handful of devices in their large portfolio.

samsung_monthly_quarterly_update

Proving software updates to carrier branded models is an entirely different story altogether. Due to their lengthy testing and certification mechanisms (which are often proven useless), wireless carriers forcibly delay the update rollout compared to unlocked variants.

The list of monthly security update models are subject to change as the regular support period expires. Also, some carriers may only support quarterly updates for all applicable current models listed above.

2019’s flagship Samsung Galaxy S10 is not an exception of this practice. US and Canadian carriers continue to provide delayed updates, whereas the global unlocked models are getting them in a much quicker manner.

s10_exynos_asd5_ota
Global Galaxy S10 models recently got Night Mode support in stock camera

The software development team behind the Galaxy S10 lineup has recently shared an update roadmap in the Korean regional Samsung Community forums.

They have highlighted the improvements in March update, and mentioned the upcoming features which are scheduled to be rolled out soon.

A snapshot of the original announcement is as follows:

s10_march_april_update_roadmap_korea

A quick English translation gives us the following info about the past improvements in March OTA update:

Thank you very much for your love and interest after launching Galaxy S10, and we will review the feedback you have sent us and will show you about the improvements made by S / W update and the features to be improved in the future. Improvements in March S / W update (March completed)

1. 112 Emergency notification App user agreement 112 Not sent after completion Improvement

2. Improvement of booting in safe mode in specific situation

3. VOIP call termination Improved battery usage time

4. Improved performance related to proximity sensor operation

Notice the third point: Team PiunikaWeb was one of the first publications to discover and report this anomaly. We also highlighted that the ASC8 build (aka the March update) should fix this annoying bug.

ok guys so installed the new firmware and cleared cache, it went to deep sleep normally then i tried to make a whatsapp call and GUESS WHAT ??????? it went to deep sleep again normally wooohoooooooo, i can confirm the nasty bug is fixed

(Source)

s10_asc8_march_ota_voip_battery_xda

The proximity sensor related issues were also reported by us. The Korean OEM incorporated some fixes, but they were not sufficient to tackle the long list of bugs and glitches.

Popular leakster Ice Universe also tweeted about the update roadmap. According to him, the upcoming April update will be full of useful goodies.

s10_april_update_ice_universe_korea

The English translation is as follows:

Major contents to be improved by next S / W update date (to be scheduled at the end of April)

1. Improved the phenomenon of inadvertently touching in the pocket

2. Improvement of noise and noise during playback of Samsung music music

3. Improvement of low-light image quality (separation of night mode)

4. Improvement of HDR and sharpness of camera

5. Improvement of digital wellbeing

6. Improved the phenomenon that Samsung Pay runs after screen release

Once again, I like to start with the third point. We already know that global Exynos powered models are getting a new night mode (which is basically a rebranding of Bright Night mode) in stock Samsung Camera with the recent ASD5 build.

s10_exynos_asd5_camera_night_mode_description
Night mode option in camera

Take bright pictures even under conditions of strong darkness.

The fourth point is also interesting, as it mentions improved HDR and sharpness. At this moment, we can’t tell if the current camera version (upgraded from v9.0.03.29 to v9.0.04.3) has those improvements in it or not, because of the lack of user feedback.

Back to the first entry in the list, it talks about accidental wake ups inside pocket. This is another pesky bug which is hindering the regular usage of Galaxy S10. You don’t want to call the police ‘accidentally’ do you?

galaxy_s10_accidental_touch_samsung_forum_2_police

The last point, which is all about random execution of Samsung Pay, has also been discovered and reported by us before. Even after turning off every gestures and shortcuts, the Samsung Pay app randomly opens up in background for a number of users.

s10_samsung_pay_opening_reddit
145 – that’s too much!

It is quite possible that all of the aforementioned fixes might not find their way to the current April update (build ASD5). The noise cancellation could be related to Galaxy Buds, whereas the Digital Wellbeing thingy should be new feature updates to the existing Wellbeing app.

Team PiunikaWeb is keeping close tabs in the Galaxy S10 update situation, so expect new stories from us time to time.

Update (April 23)

The same update roadmap is now visible for global users via Samsung Members app.

s10_march_april_update_samsung_members_app

PiunikaWeb is a unique initiative that mainly focuses on investigative journalism. This means we do a lot of hard work to come up with news stories that are either ‘exclusive,’ ‘breaking,’ or ‘curated’ in nature. Perhaps that’s the reason our work has been picked by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and more. Do take a tour of our website to get a feel of our work. And if you like what we do, stay connected with us on Twitter (@PiunikaWeb) and other social media channels to receive timely updates on stories we publish.

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S10

Kingshuk De
896 Posts

I came from a mixed background of Statistics and Computer Science. My research domains included embedded computer systems, mobile computing and delay tolerant networks in post-disaster scenarios. Apart from tinkering with gadgets or building hackintosh, I like to hop on various subreddits and forums like MyDigitalLife and XDA.

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