10-year-old Samsung Galaxy S III may still run Android 12

Companies like Samsung may not take the time, effort, or resources to install Android updates for flagship phones more than two years after they launch, but the Android community never gives up. According to a report from XDA Developers, the Samsung Galaxy S III 3G released in 2012 has just received an unofficial Android 12 update. The update comes from developer html6405, who is also a recognized XDA developer. Once updated, the phone can work with cellular radio, camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and more. The phone is also dual-booted to support the almost forgotten Sailfish OS operating system, which is somewhat similar to Android.

Of course, an unofficial update does not necessarily mean that companies like Samsung can or should provide updates for 10 years, however it is a reminder that the industry’s current 18-24 month update cycle may not be what we should be.. agree to. Android smartphone makers, and especially Google (which controls Android), have been under pressure for years to increase update cycles. Notably, Apple was able to deliver the iOS 15 update to the iPhone 6S, a phone that was first released seven years ago.

Specifications Samsung Galaxy S III 3G

An issue often cited when providing updates for a long time is that the hardware on older devices doesn’t work with new software. To that end, the Samsung Galaxy S III 3G is powered by an Exynos 4412 chip that’s as old as the phone itself. It is a quad-core chip that uses the ARM Cortex A9 architecture and is built on 32nm manufacturing nodes. According to the XDA report, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth also work fine, although many LineageOS specific features are “missing from the ROM”.

It also tells you why companies like Samsung can’t provide updates for very old phones. After all, users expect their phones to perform just like they did before after an update. Therefore, companies cannot provide updates that will not make all parts of the phone work. The XDA report also mentions many bugs in the device, including the fact that the SIM PIN unlock was broken.