Recently, I wrote about the Galaxy S8 and S8+ being moved to Samsung’s quarterly schedule. This is the second time Samsung have done this, with them doing it last year with the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge for the first time. However, 2017’s Galaxy Note flagship remains on the list for monthly updates. So when will the Note8 be demoted?

Note8 not three years old yet

The Galaxy Note8 was announced in August 2017, and now it’s May 2020. The Note8 has yet to reach its third birthday. The S8, S8+, S7, and S7 edge only were demoted once they had already turned three years old. It would be unfair for Samsung to revoke monthly support for the Galaxy Note8 now when it has not even turned three yet. The Note8 still has a few months left.

When did the last flagship Galaxy Note lose support?

The last major successful Galaxy Note flagship, the Note5, was released later on in 2015 after the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge. There was no Note6, and the Note7 went up in flames and was recalled, and the Note FE (Fan Edition) was a refurbished phone, not a proper flagship. The Note8 is two years younger than the Galaxy Note5 yet is the first major Note flagship since the Note5.

The S6 and S6 edge lost support in March 2018, three years after it was launched. Back then, Samsung only offered three years of software support to its phones in total. The Note5 as well as the more premium S6 variant the S6 edge+ stayed on for a while, however. Support ended for these phones at around the same time the Note9 was announced.

So, when will the Galaxy Note8 be demoted?

The Galaxy Note8 will likely be demoted in August, probably around the same time as the Note20 is launched. But don’t worry if you’re still using a Note8 and probably will still be by then: Samsung are demoting the Note8 to a quarterly schedule, not ending support for it. The Note8 will likely carry on receiving updates until next year in around August when the Note30 is released, so you’ve still got plenty of time to plan your upgrade.

Conclusion

The Galaxy Note8 is still a great phone and still very modern with Android 9 Pie and monthly updates. Monthly updates will likely continue until August and even after that the Note8 will still get security updates every three months for the rest of the year and most of the next. This gives you enough time to plan your upgrade and enjoy your Note8 while it’s still in support.