In addition to making some of thebest smartphonesin the business, Samsung is also known for providing timely software updates.Google Play system updatesare a different beast, though, as Samsung has no control over its rollout, while users can’t manually sideload them either. This has previously led to some inconsistencies with regard to the timing of the updates. It looks like history has repeated itself again, with emerging reports highlighting how several Samsung Galaxy flagships are stuck on much older Google Play system updates, dating back to July in some instances.
Thanks to reporting by Dutch publicationGalaxyClub(viaSamMobile), we’re learning that phones like theGalaxy S23andGalaxy Z Fold 5— both released this year — are running the Google Play system update from July 2023, with no fresh updates in sight. Meanwhile, the slightly older Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S21 are seemingly running on the October version of the Play system update.
The Updates screen on the Galaxy Z Fold 5 (left); the Galaxy S23 Ultra (right)
If that isn’t bizarre enough, the midrangeGalaxy A52which is yet to getAndroid 14, seemingly has the Play system update from November 2023, whereas the newerGalaxy A54seemingly features the update from September.
For some, trying to trigger the update from the Settings page reportedly shows error messages such as “Your device is up to date” and “Updates are temporarily unavailable,” per GalaxyClub. In other cases, users may even find that the update appears to be downloading, with the screen prompting them to reboot. However, the Google Play system update version remains unchanged even after the restart.
If you still don’t give up and try checking for the update again, the screen reportedly displays the never-ending “Checking for update…” message with no end in sight, as shown above. Thankfully, it looks like users can exit this screen by simply going back, so the device won’t necessarily be frozen here.
If all of this sounds a little familiar to you, well, it is. Wereported almost a year agoabout certain Samsung Galaxy phones being stuck on the July 2022 Google Play system update. However, that issue was remedied a few days later. Similarly, Google Pixel 7 and 7 Pro users were unable toinstall their first Play system update, even with the installation prompt popping up to users.
It’s hard to speculate on what’s really behind this newly discovered delay. But we hope Samsung has a solution in place, given that the number of affected users could easily be larger than we thought. The company is more actively involved in the rollout of One UI 6 updates, with the latest iteration —One UI 6.1—making an appearance today.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
The Z Fold 5 is here, and it’s nothing short of splendid! While it doesn’t particularly blow us away with what it offers, we surely appreciate the subtle improvements it sports over its already-decent predecessor, the Z Fold 4. Even though we didn’t get to see some of the changes we’d hoped for — such as improved battery life — the disappointment was compensated by a powerful chipset, an aesthetically pleasing hinge, and an upgraded camera setup.
