What you need to know
- Samsung has started pushing its January 2024 security update to the Galaxy S23, S22, and S21 in Europe.
- The patch features nearly 75 vulnerability fixes with the majority labeled as "High" priority.
- Samsung acknowledged its lack of burn-in screen protection measures but it's unclear if such an update to bring it made it into the January patch.
Samsung is starting to roll out its new year security update a little late to a few of its flagship phones.
According to SamMobile, the January 2024 security patch is arriving for the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S22, and Galaxy S21 series in Europe. Owners of the latest flagship series will find firmware version S91xBXXS3BWL3 when updating at an approximate 400MB download size. Those with a Galaxy S22 should see S90xBXXS7DWL3 while the S21 finds G99xBXXS9FWL9.
It's worth noting that the update doesn't appear to have arrived for any FE devices, so far.
Samsung goes over a few fixes itself, however, the update packs nearly 75 fixes, according to the changelog. The majority of the fixes rank "High" on the Korean OEM's priority scale, as well. The company has included a fix involving its "Notification service," which could've allowed an attacker to access a user's information. This fix pertains to devices utilizing Android 11 up to Android 14.
A "High" level fix arrives for Galaxy device's Bluetooth pairing process. Samsung explains the fix should solve a vulnerability where an attacker could've paired a device without user interaction.
Additionally, the January security update may have returned Samsung's burn-in screen protection measures. The company formally acknowledged the issue, stating it should arrive in January during its "next update version." Unfortunately, it's unclear if the protection made its way in with this patch. Burn-in protection slightly shifts the pixels on your display to help preserve your OLED screen.
The update is currently making its rounds to the following Galaxy devices, as well:
- Galaxy Z Flip 5
- Galaxy Z Fold 5
- Galaxy Z Flip 4
- Galaxy Z Fold 4
- Galaxy A52 (5G)
- Galaxy Note 20
Since the update was first spotted in Europe, the Galaxy S23 series and others should begin picking it up in the U.S. soon. Your Galaxy device should automatically begin downloading, but if it doesn't, you can manually check it by heading into your Settings > Software update.
Meanwhile, we're awaiting the official launch of the Galaxy S24 series on January 17 at 1 pm ET at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. Samsung confirmed as much at the beginning of January as it also teased new things to come. Aside from the S24, S24 Plus, and S24 Ultra, Samsung is preparing to showcase "Galaxy AI."
Presumably using an AI model named "Gauss," Samsung's take on artificial intelligence will combine on-device services with cloud-based AI support. One of the first features it teased was called "AI Live Translate Call," which should help users see real-time translations in audio and text formats.
Understated grandeur
Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra brought more to the table with its 200MP primary lens and an estimated two-day battery life. Internally, the device features a Galaxy-specific Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC that pushes its speed and performance capabilities a little further. And with its One UI software, Android looks like stars glittering in the sky.
