Samsung has announced that will start releasing monthly updates for unlocked handsets sold in the US. ZDNet emailed Samsung Mobile Security for clarification on the company’s plans about security updates for unlocked devices in the United States.
Samsung’s Mobile Security team said in an email,
Due to various circumstances, we have been releasing security updates for unlocked (open) Galaxy devices in the U.S. on a quarterly basis. However, we have now resolved the challenges; and we are committed to releasing security updates for those devices on a monthly basis.
The email also states that Samsung will “soon” release the March security update however, it is unclear if that update will include Nougat. It is unfortunate that last year’s unlocked Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge variants were last updated in December 2016 and are still on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. In comparison, major carriers in the United States have already released Android 7.0 Nougat for the 2016 flagships.