Can you guess which Android phones got updated first in 2023?

Can you guess which Android phones got updated first in 2023?

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Today is the first Monday of the month and all Pixel users know what that means. It’s time for the monthly security and functional updates. The former consists of patches to close vulnerabilities, while the latter consists of bug fixes. So as a Pixel user, this writer has been trying to coax an update to my Pixel 6 Pro by going to Institutions > System > System update but in vain. It’s possible that with New Year’s Day being celebrated today (since the holiday fell on a Sunday this year), we won’t see the update until tomorrow.

However, Samsung continues to outgoogle Google. First of all, the Galaxy S22 series offers four years of major Android updates that bring users to Android 16. My Pixel 6 Pro, purchased the same year, will only receive major Android updates for three years before Android 15. Did we mention that as far as the Pixels go, Google designs the hardware and develops the operating system? It makes you wonder how Samsung provides major Android updates for four years while Google only provides three.

An older Samsung phone will be the first to receive the monthly update in 2023

But we digress. It’s time you put on your thinking cap. Riddle me this Batman, name the phone that was the first Android device to receive the January 2023 security update today. The Pixel 7 series you say? Sure, these are the latest Pixel models released so they should be the first to receive the update. After all, it’s one of the reasons we Pixel-enthusiastic phone enthusiasts buy Pixel models, right?

But no, the Pixel 7 series is not the right answer. Neither is the Pixel 6 line or the Pixel 6a. In fact, we gave you an important hint two paragraphs ago. It’s actually one Samsung model that is the first Android phone to receive the January 2023 security update. And thanks to my psychic abilities (I’m as psychic as the Long Island Medium. Take that comment as you will), I know you’ll be guessing the Galaxy S22 line. And that’s another big “NO”. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 are also incorrect.
As reported by SamMobile, the first Android device to receive the first security update of 2023, is (drumroll, please) the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ released in 2019. The Galaxy Note 10 is receiving firmware update N970FXXS8HVL3, but only in Switzerland for now. The rest of Europe will get the update soon, while those living in the United States may have to wait until the end of the month to get it. Nevertheless, these phones are the first Android devices worldwide to receive the very first update for 2023.

If you live in Switzerland and own the Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+, put down your knife and your Little Debbie chocolate bun and grab your phone. Go to Institutions > Software update and tap Download and install. Interestingly, the last major Android update for both the Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy 10+ was Android 12, which arrived in late 2021 as part of the One UI 4 update.

You can’t tell the players without a scorecard

Today, the Galaxy Note 10+ received firmware update N975FXXS8HVL3. Both phones receive security patches and bug fixes from the updates. But this is where things can get confusing. Since the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite was released in January 2020, about five months after the Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+, it came out of the box with Android 10 pre-installed.

And since Sammy offered three major Android updates at the time, the Galaxy Note 10 Lite was updated to Android 13. The other Galaxy Note 10 models were released with Android 9 installed, so neither the Galaxy Note 10 nor the Galaxy Note 10+ were eligible to receive a major Android update after Android 12.

As they used to say on baseball fields in the US, “You can’t tell the players without a scorecard.” As for those Pixel owners who may have to wait until tomorrow for the January update, you’ll only have one more day to live with the bug the update fixes.