Why Galaxy S FE phones aren’t updated the same day as their non-FE cousins

Whenever Samsung releases a new software update for the Galaxy S20 or Galaxy S21 lineup, many people assume Samsung will include the Galaxy S20 FE or the Galaxy S21 FE in the rollout, only to find out their device doesn’t get the same update as its non-Fan Edition model most of the time.

Why is that, though? Why don’t those FE smartphones get new updates along with the other models in the lineup? Well, there’s no official answer to that question, but it’s probably because Galaxy S FE phones launch many months after their non-FE counterparts.

Fan Edition Galaxy S models are launched separately, updated separately

The FE models get mostly the same hardware as the non-FE models, which should make updating them all at the same time an easy process. Still, for some reason, Samsung treats the Fan Edition devices differently. Other than the fact that FE models launch months after their standard Galaxy S cousins, their aggressive pricing could also be a reason that factors in here.

Thankfully, Samsung doesn’t discriminate when it comes to the level of software support any of these phones get, FE or non-FE. Both the Galaxy S20 FE and the Galaxy S21 FE were/are eligible for three and four major OS upgrades like their cousins.

In fact, the Galaxy S21 FE will get an extra big upgrade compared to the Galaxy S21, S21+, or S21 Ultra when support ends, as delays in its announcement resulted in the device launching with a newer version of Android out of the box. And with 2023 less than a week away, the Galaxy S22 FE — if it exists — will likely follow in the S21 FE’s footsteps and launch running the latest Android and One UI software.