Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+, Note 9 & Note 10 Lite have same Exynos 9810 SoC but only one gets Android 11 (One UI 3) update

Samsung is one of many Android OEMs that only provides two major Android updates for its devices. This is somewhat of a disappointment as it is one of the biggest competitors to Apple and its iPhones which often get 4-5 years worth of major iOS updates.

With the release of Android 11 just around the corner, some users have been beginning to wonder if the Galaxy Note 9 and Galaxy S9 series will receive the One UI 3 update based on Android 11. We’ve already discussed this and you can take a look at all the details here.

That being said, Samsung has been raising the prices for its flagships for many years now. However, it is yet to extend its software support. This is despite the fact that some smartphones even make use of the same chipset.

Take for example the Galaxy Note 10 Lite which released early in the year. The device packs in the Exynos 9810 SoC with the Mali-G72 MP18 GPU coupled with either 6GB or 8GB RAM. Further, it’s got 128GB internal UFS 2.1 storage. It also comes with Android 10 pre-loaded and is expected to get Android 12 as well.

If these specifications sound familiar, it is because they are the same specifications found on the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and the Galaxy S9 series for that matter. Thus, it should be easy enough for the company to push Android 11 for the devices since the Note 10 Lite will be getting it.

However, there’s a catch. As you may know already, Samsung uses Qualcomm chipsets for their flagships in the US and a few other regions. Both the Galaxy S9 series and the Galaxy Note 9 are also sold with the Snapdragon 845 SoC in a few regions.

This adds a potential roadblock to updating the devices with Android 11 since Samsung would have to go through the process of updating the Snapdragon variants separately. Of course, it’s highly unlikely that the company would take on the added responsibility.

Further, it would make no sense for Samsung to provide an update to Android 11 or even Android 12 for that matter only to Exynos variants of the devices. This would create a backlash from users of the Snapdragon variants of the device.

Nonetheless, all this simply means that Samsung will continue the development for at least two new Android versions for the Exynos 9810 SoC but older devices will not get the benefits of prolonged support.

Although, it’s about time Samsung bumped up its update cycle to include at least 3 major Android updates for its flagships if not the mid-rangers and affordable offerings. Spending over a thousand dollars to get software updates for only three years is ridiculous.

But with users continuing to opt for Samsung devices, it’s unlikely that the company will make changes to its update cycle in the near future. Since the company follows the same update pattern, we’ve put together a list of Samsung phones that are expected to receive Android 11.

Wrapping up, it seems that out of the three devices with nearly identical hardware only one will be getting the upcoming Android version, that being the Galaxy Note 10 Lite. Welcome to the current state of Samsung and Android updates…

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