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Samsung‘s Galaxy S20 FE 5G is receiving the June 2022 Android security patch in the US. The carrier-locked variants of the phone are picking up the new security update first. The unlocked units should also soon get the latest SMR (Security Maintenance Release). International versions of the phone have already received this month’s SMR.
The new update for the carrier-locked Galaxy S20 FE 5G (model number SM-G781U) in the US is rolling out with firmware version G781USQS7FVE2. The official changelog doesn’t mention anything apart from the security fixes for this month. But lately, Samsung’s changelogs haven’t been telling the full story. So we will have to wait for confirmation on that.
As for the content of the June SMR, Samsung’s updated security bulletin mentions fixes for more than five dozen vulnerabilities. These include several critical fixes from the Korean firm as well as Google.
Interestingly, the unlocked Galaxy S20 FE 5G (SM-G781U1) also started receiving a new software update in the US around the same time as the carrier-locked ones. But it didn’t bring a new security patch. The new software package still bundled the May SMR, which was rolled out to the devices last month itself. The new update did bring some feature enhancements and performance improvements, though. It also contained a few bug fixes. Hopefully, Samsung will soon seed the June SMR to the device.
If you’re using the Galaxy S20 FE 5G in the US, you will get the new security patch as an OTA (over the air) update in the coming weeks. You can check for updates from the Software update menu in the Settings app.
Samsung may be shelving the FE project
The Galaxy S20 FE arrived in September 2020 as the first member of Samsung’s new affordable flagship lineup, which it branded FE (Fan Edition). The device debuted with Android 10 on board and has received updates to Android 11 and Android 12. It will also get Android 13 later this year or in early 2023.
Unfortunately, the FE project itself may be coming to an end this year. The Galaxy S20 FE was a hit and Samsung followed it up with the Galaxy S21 FE earlier this year. But the latter found it tough to attract buyers. The device’s pricing and launch time didn’t help its cause. While the company seems to be preparing to launch the phone at a lower price soon, it may have had enough of the project itself. Reports suggest Samsung doesn’t plan to launch a new FE phone anymore. We will keep you posted on this.