Even Verizon's humble Samsung Galaxy A12 is getting Android 11 with One UI 3.1 on top
Does anyone remember the last time we reported on an Android 11 update notdelivered to a Samsung device? This writer doesn't, and somehow, it almost feels like the world's number one smartphone vendor has helped US carriers get better at this type of software support stuff in recent months.
Verizon, for instance, seems to be promoting the Galaxy A12 to the newest stable OS version as we speak after picking up the entry-level phone with Android 10 pre-loaded back in April.
Obviously, Android 11 has been around for a pretty long time now, with Android 12 likely to be deployed to Google Pixel handsets as soon as next month, but this still qualifies as a surprisingly early rollout considering the very humble specifications of the Galaxy A12.
Normally priced at an extremely reasonable $180 on the nation's top mobile network operator, the 6.5-inch Samsung device packs a modest 2GB RAM paired with a MediaTek MT6765 processor. In comparison, HMD Global, which used to be great at keeping old phones up to date, has yet to deliver its own over-the-air collections of Android 11 treats to 2019's mid-range Nokia 7.2 and high-end Nokia 9 PureView.
For what it's worth, the Galaxy A12 is still a fairly new product, having seen international daylight near the end of last year before expanding to US carriers starting just a few months ago. The "global" device began receiving Android 11-based One UI 3.1 goodies in May, while the AT&T-locked model continues to run the previous version of Google's popular mobile OS.
Oddly enough, the Verizon variant is no longer up for grabs online, although you should still be able to find it in select physical stores across the nation. Along with the "newest ways to control your privacy, customize your phone, and get things done", as well as conversation Bubbles, categorized notifications, and Quick Share enhancements, the Android 11 update arrives with May 2021 security patches baked in, which is obviously... not ideal right now.
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