This week, on our weekly firmware news roundup: Indian Xiaomi Poco M2 gets February's security patch, Samsung officially promises to deliver four years of security updates to their devices, and more!

What's New this Week?

Xiaomi

  • Indian Poco M2 is now receiving February's security patch

Samsung

  • Galaxy A01 gets February's security patch
  • Samsung extends software security updates to four years
  • One UI 3.0 and 3.1 update for the Galaxy S20 series enables the eSIM functionality
  • Galaxy F62 is now receiving its first software update
  • Galaxy Fold and Note 10 Series are now receiving One UI 3.1
  • Samsung Galaxy A (2018) is already receiving March's security update
  • The latest update for the Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Watch Active brings some Galaxy Watch 3 features to it

Xiaomi

Xiaomi Poco M2

Another update is here for the Indian version of the Poco M2 and it brings February's security patch with it.

Poco M20 Pro indian february patch

The changelog doesn't mention anything more. However, with a size of nearly 600 megabytes, we can't help but wonder if there is something hidden under the hood. Let us know if you notice anything different.

Samsung

Galaxy A01

Great news for Samsung Galaxy A01 owners, your phone is now receiving the latest Android security patch in Vietnam. And we can safely assume that it'll soon be available for more regions – assuming that it's not already.

According to our sources, the firmware version number (A015FXXUAUA3) suggests that this is more than a security update. But we still don't have any information on exactly what's included here. We'll let you know if anything comes up.

But with that out of the way, it's also worth keeping in mind that the A01 is expected to get the major Android 11/One UI 3.0 somewhere during this year.

Samsung Software Security Updates

Android smartphones are no doubt great. But if there is one aspect where Apple has been putting us to shame since forever, that's security updates.

Samsung already delivers up to 3 years of security updates – which is not bad when compared to other manufacturers. But more is always better. And more is what we'll be getting from now on.

Just a few days ago, Samsung officially announced that eligible devices that were released from 2019 up to today and onwards are going to be receiving four years of security updates. And don't forget that flagships along with some mid-rangers are also receiving three years of major security updates!

Samsung Galaxy A8

According to Sam Mobile, these are the devices that are going to be getting four years of security updates as of now:

  • Foldable devices: Fold, Fold 5G, Z Fold2, Z Fold2 5G, Z Flip, Z Flip 5G
  • S series: S10, S10+, S10e, S10 5G, S10 Lite, S20, S20 5G, S20+, S20+ 5G, S20 Ultra, S20 Ultra 5G, S20 FE, S20 FE 5G, S21 5G, S21+ 5G, S21 Ultra 5G
  • Note series: Note10, Note10 5G, Note10+, Note10+ 5G, Note10 Lite, Note20, Note20 5G, Note20 Ultra, Note20 Ultra 5G
  • A series: A10, A10e, A10s, A20, A20s, A30, A30s, A40, A50, A50s, A60, A70, A70s, A80, A90 5G, A11, A21, A21s, A31, A41, A51, A51 5G, A71, A71 5G, A02s, A12, A32 5G, A42 5G
  • M series: M10s, M20, M30, M30s, M40, M11, M12, M21, M31, M31s, M51
  • XCover series: XCover4s, XCover FieldPro, XCover Pro
  • Galaxy Tab series: Tab Active Pro, Tab Active3, Tab A 8 (2019), Tab A with S Pen, Tab A 8.4 (2020), Tab A7, Tab S5e, Tab S6, Tab S6 5G, Tab S6 Lite, Tab S7, Tab S7+

Galaxy S20 Series

The Galaxy S20 series comes with eSIM support out of the box. But, for some reason, Samsung released the phone with the feature disabled/blocked.

Thankfully, it looks like both One UI 3.0 and 3.1 actually enables eSIM functionality on the S20 series. It's just that Samsung doesn't mention that on the changelog.

S20 series eSIM

You should be able to find these settings under the SIM card manager settings. That's in:

  • Phone Settings
  • Connectitons
  • SIM card manager
  • Add mobile plan

But it goes without saying that you need to live in a supported region while also using the services of a carrier who offers eSIMs.

Galaxy F62

The Galaxy F62 is Samsung’s latest mid-range device that just went on sale in India. And the interesting part is that its first update is already available for downloading.

According to the changelog, this update brings improvements to the performance and stability of the camera while also improving the overall performance of the phone.

Looking at the overall size of it, we can safely assume that there are no other additions hidden under the hood. Keep in mind that such updates are often incremental. Even if it’s already being delivered in your region, some may have to keep on waiting a bit longer before getting their turn!

Galaxy Note 10 Series and Galaxy Fold

One UI 3.1 has already been delivered to numerous Samsung flagships. And so it’s no surprise that older devices are now slowly receiving it as well. This week, we are talking about both the Galaxy Fold and the Galaxy Note 10 series.

To be more specific, this update weighs a bit more than a gigabyte and is already available in Germany for the Note 10 series and in France for the Galaxy Fold. As per usual, we expect that it won’t be too long before they also become available in more regions.

In case you are not familiar with One UI 3.1, while it’s not the same revamp that we saw from One UI 2.0 to 3.0, you can still look forward to things such as:

  • Improvements in Single Take
  • An option of removing location data from pictures
  • Object eraser tool
  • Private Share
  • Google Discover feed integration in the home screen
  • Google Home device controls
  • Video call effects
  • App continuity

Along with March's security patch, in this case.

As per usual, don't forget that such updates are incremental. Even if the update is available in your region, some people will have to wait a bit more before getting their turn.

Galaxy A8 (2018) and Galaxy S21

 Samsung is no doubt on the top right now when it comes to delivering software updates. We barely ever see a week where most of the updates on our firmware news are not covered by Samsung – and this week is no different either. After all, the Galaxy A8 (2018) is already receiving March’s security update while we are still 3 days away from the new month!

Shortly after the update started being delivered to A8 units, some older flagships such as the Note 10, S10, S7, and Galaxy Fold followed suit as well. And we assume that the newer flagships are about to follow too.

Galaxy A8

We still don’t have any information on region availability. But since we are talking about such minor updates, it shouldn’t take too long before they are available worldwide. Just keep in mind that we are still talking about incremental updates that are being delivered in gradual rollouts. Even if you do get the update in your region, some of you may have to keep on waiting a bit longer before you get your turn.

Update: the March security update is now also available for the Galaxy S21.

Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Watch Active

Another update is here for both the Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Watch Active and it includes a few features from the Galaxy Watch 3. To be more specific, we are talking about:

  • Ability to see images in notifications
  • AR Emoji and Bitmoji
  • Voice guidance for workouts
  • Scrolling screenshots
  • Along with general improvements to stability and performance

You can currently find the update in both South Korea and the U.S while we expect that it'll soon be available for more regions as well. Keep in mind that it weighs almost 300 megabytes – which is rather big as far as smartwatch updates go.

Wrapping Up

That's all for now. Feel free to come back next Friday for more firmware news!

For now, do you feel like we forgot to mention something important? Got anything wrong? Then let us and everyone else know about it in the comments section down below!

Like what you see/ Then feel free to follow us on Facebook or Twitter for the latest news, reviews, listicles, apps, games, devices, how-to guides, and more!

SOURCES: SAM MOBILE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, GSM ARENA

View Comments

What's my model number?

There are several ways to locate your model number:

Option 1
On your device, go to Settings, then "About device" and scroll down to "Model number"
Option 2
Often times you can view the model number inside the device, by removing the battery
Option 3
Using Samsung's model/serial number location tool

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