It seems that the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge have finally reached the end of their long lives, since Samsung has removed both of these devices from its list of models to receive regular security updates.
The removal of security updates signals that the end has now come for the devices, and that no future updates are planned for either of them. Since the S6 and S6 Edge are both now three years old, having been revealed in the first ever Samsung Unpacked event, it’s not unreasonable for Samsung to cut both of these old flagships off after three years of security and major OS updates.
An earlier report stated that the S6 Edge+ and the S6 Active had also been removed from the list, but that article has been amended to correct that Samsung then re-added both the S6 Edge+ and S6 Active, presumably because both of those devices are still just under three years old — the S6 Edge+ having been revealed at the same August 2015 event as the Note 5, and the S6 Active in June 2015. It’s fair to assume that support for both of these devices will expire later this year, to match the older models in the S6 range. It’s also unclear how this relates to a proposed update to Android 8.0 Oreo for the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge — according to previous reports, the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge would receive the update. However, with this news that seems unlikely. We have reached out to Samsung for comment.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 was revealed in March 2015, and released in April of that same year. The Galaxy S6 signaled something of a change in Android flagship phones, heralding the beginning of a more premium approach, with more premium materials. The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge were the first phones in the Galaxy S range to embrace a metal-and-glass design, with Gorilla Glass 4 on both the front and the back of the devices. The S6 Edge was also the first S-range phone to come with curved edges on the screen, a trend that continued with the S7 Edge, and eventually resulted in the Galaxy S8 and S9 phones that ditched a flat screen design entirely. While technology moved on and left the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge behind, it’s clear that they started some fine traditions and will be fondly remembered by many.
