Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9 smartphone isn’t kaput yet, but it does appear to be losing ground. According to Samsung’s official security updates list, updates for the Note 9 have officially been reduced down to quarterly. The device is three years old at this point, and Samsung is really pushing its foldables, so this isn’t too much of a surprise. While this is undoubtedly a planned phasing-out, you won’t have to toss your phone anytime soon. 9to5Google posits that the Galaxy Note 9 will likely remain on a quarterly schedule for the next year, then drop further to biannual updates. Then, after a year with biannual updates, support will likely cease for good. Not ideal if you still have and use a Galaxy Note 9, but support isn’t actually ending until 2023 (at the earliest). Even then, it’s still possible to continue using devices after official support has been ceased. That said, if you do use a Galaxy Note 9, you might want to consider a hardware upgrade within the next couple of years. The device still has some neat tricks up its sleeve, but without support, it’ll stop receiving security updates and leave you more vulnerable. The decision whether to upgrade or not ultimately rests with you, though. Either way, you still have about two or three years to think it over.
