Samsung's Galaxy S8 reaches end of life after four years of updates

Both phones were launched at an Unpacked event in March 2017.

What you need to know

• Samsung has ended software support for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ phones.
• Both phones were launched in 2017 with Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box.
• The Galaxy S8 and S8+ received two major Android OS upgrades and four years of security updates.

Samsung recently rolled out the April 2021 Android security patch to its Galaxy S8 series phones, which were on a quarterly update schedule since May last year. Samsung has now ended support for the two flagship phones, four years after their launch.

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are no longer listed on Samsung's Security Updates page. The Galaxy S8 Active and Galaxy S8 Lite, however, will continue to receive security updates for a little longer. While the Galaxy S8 Active is on a quarterly update schedule, the Galaxy S8 Lite is listed under devices eligible to receive bi-annual security updates.

Samsung launched the Galaxy S8 and S8+ in March 2017 with Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box. The flagship duo was updated to Android Oreo in early 2018, while the Android Pie update arrived in early 2019.

Unlike the Galaxy S8 series, Samsung's best phones are now guaranteed three Android OS updates. Aside from Google, Samsung is currently the only Android OEM to promise three major updates. Most other smartphone makers only deliver two Android version updates to their flagship phones, while budget phones are usually limited to a single OS update.

When it comes to security updates, however, Samsung has an even better update policy than Google. It promises four years of security updates to its best Android phones— including affordable A and M series models. Google, on the other hand, currently promises three years of security updates for its Pixel phones.