06/11/2025
Technology Stress: Still using Samsung A02
Last updated: November 5th, 2025
End of Galaxy S22 Android updates highlights the value of Samsung's newer policy
I feel so much better knowing that my S24+ is covered by seven OS upgrades.
Mihai Matei
Galaxy S22 hands on reviewOpinion
I sometimes forget that there's only a two-year gap between my Galaxy S22+ and S24+. Somehow, the newer model often feels exponentially better. For one, I'm so accustomed to the idea that my Galaxy S24+ benefits from Samsung's 7 OS upgrade policy that I find it hard to believe my S22+ is almost at the end of the One UI road.
But the end is indeed drawing very near for the Galaxy S22+. And if you're still using this awesome device from 2022, you're only half a step away from being limited to security patches.
Thankfully, the Galaxy S22+ should receive One UI 8.5 sometime next year. And because the phone went on sale in early 2022 with a promise of five years of security patches, it will technically be supported until the first quarter of 2027.
But as far as major Android OS upgrades go, the S22+ and the rest of the S22 series have already reached the end of the line. Android 16 was its last big OS push for the S22+, and it went live not long ago with One UI 8.0 on top.
Thankfully, though, Samsung is usually kind enough to release “point” updates before pulling the plug on old devices. And since both One UI 8.0 and One UI 8.5 are based on Android 16, the Galaxy S22+ is eligible for both and will likely get version 8.5 next year.
My Galaxy S24+ really puts things into perspective
Owning both the Galaxy S22+ and the S24+ has been an interesting experiment, to say the least. That's especially true because the S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra were the first Galaxy phones to benefit from Samsung's policy that promises seven major OS upgrades. Before that, even premium phones were limited to four.
But because I can see how the S22+ and S24+ are aging side-by-side, I must say that Samsung's enhanced update policy seems even more valuable the more time passes.
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Here's a fun way to put things into perspective. At the time of writing, nearly two years after release, my Galaxy S24+ is still eligible for more Android OS updates than the S22+ could have ever received over its entire lifetime.
Or, in other words, the Galaxy S22+ went from Android 12 to 16 over a period of three and a half years. Whereas the S24+ has received two major Android upgrades so far and has five more to go. It should be supported up to Android 21.
For the Galaxy S24+, the end of support is still so far into the future that we can't even be sure Google will call its future OS update “Android 21.”
To wrap this up, it seems to me that any flagship Galaxy phone that missed the seven OS upgrade policy is starting to feel outdated at an accelerated rate. And once the S22 reaches the end, the S23 won't be far behind.
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Mihai is a blogger and column writer at SamMobile. His first Samsung phone was an A800 which took a lot of beating, and a part of him still misses the novelty of the clamshell design. In his free time, he enjoys watching shows, documentaries, and stand-up comedy; listening to music, taking walks, and occasionally playing old(er) video games.
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