End of support for the 2017 Samsung Galaxy S8: the Korean company will no longer release security updates for this historic and highly appreciated model.
The era of one of the most famous smartphones among those produced by Samsung ends. After saying goodbye, in February, to as many as four devices dated 2017, now from the list of security updates of the Korean house disappears permanently Galaxy S8, after four years since its debut on the international market and quite a few pieces sold.
Just a couple of months ago Samsung had removed four devices produced in the same year, namely Galaxy A3, A5 and A7, all three in the version produced in 2017, and Galaxy J3 Pop. With the Galaxy S8 series, therefore, another piece is added to the smartphones considered obsolete that, although they can be used, will no longer be able to count on security updates dedicated to the operating system. It was not, however, an unexpected step: in fact, as usual, the updates had already dropped from 4 to 2 during the past year, a sign of the gradual end of support for all those devices considered more dated.
Samsung Galaxy S8, as it was the flagship of 2017
With Galaxy S8, Samsung has aimed at the top of the range. Just out of the factory, this smartphone that became available at the end of April 2017 could count on a 5.8-inch AMOLED screen with curved edges, an Exynos 8895 processor and a 3,000mAh battery. On the back, sprouted then a single 12MP camera, far from the days of modules with 4-5 sensors and as many lenses as we are now accustomed to seeing (for example, those of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra).
Among the innovations that came with Galaxy S8, it is impossible not to mention that of the abandonment of capacitive keys and the home button, symbol of smartphones with Android operating system at least until the arrival of this model. The decision to abandon the physical button gave space to larger screens and thinner bodies, so much so that it allowed precisely the introduction of curved screens on these particular devices.
Given Android 7.0 Nougat, the smartphone has received two updates of the operating system over the years. Then, in 2019, Samsung included it among the devices capable of receiving the One UI, based on Android 9.0 Pie; penultimate act, as previously anticipated, the exit from the list of monthly updates to end up in the one dedicated to quarterly updates during the course of 2020.
Samsung Galaxy S8, how to continue using the smartphone
Now that Galaxy S8 is out of the list of updates does not mean that this smartphone is so obsolete that you should stop using it. If the most experienced can install custom ROMs, available on the various sites and forums of the sector, the others can still count on their device, taking more care when using it but still being able to count on the device that has accompanied them for the last four years.