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Door staff@engadget.com (Adnan Ahmed) - 17 Oct 2026
Back in the TouchWiz era, Samsung's reputation for timely software updates wasn't exactly the best. It's thus great to see how far the brand has come in delivering faster updates and providing longer software support for its devices. Samsung is now one of the few Android manufacturers that offers a generously long software support policy, with its recent Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra benefiting from seven years of OS and security updates. Not every tablet Samsung has sold in previous years enjoys that kind of longevity, though.
2026 marks the final release of major Android updates for the Galaxy Tab S9, S9+, S9 Ultra, S9 FE and S9 FE+. These tablets will receive the One UI 9 update, which is based on Android 17. The Galaxy Tab S9 series arrived in 2023 running One UI 5.1 (Android 13), with Samsung promising four generations of major OS updates and five years of security patches for these devices. They should continue to receive security updates until sometime in 2028.
The Galaxy Tab S8, S8+ and S8 Ultra (released in February 2022) have already received their final major OS upgrade with One UI 8, which is based on Android 16. Security updates should continue until February 2027. Android 16 is also the last major update for the Galaxy Tab A9 and A9+, which were released in October 2023. Despite being a bit newer, the Galaxy Tab A9 series has already received its final major OS update, likely because it was a budget-oriented offering. It will still receive another year of security updates.
2026 marks the final release of major Android updates for the Galaxy Tab S9, S9+, S9 Ultra, S9 FE and S9 FE+. These tablets will receive the One UI 9 update, which is based on Android 17. The Galaxy Tab S9 series arrived in 2023 running One UI 5.1 (Android 13), with Samsung promising four generations of major OS updates and five years of security patches for these devices. They should continue to receive security updates until sometime in 2028.
The Galaxy Tab S8, S8+ and S8 Ultra (released in February 2022) have already received their final major OS upgrade with One UI 8, which is based on Android 16. Security updates should continue until February 2027. Android 16 is also the last major update for the Galaxy Tab A9 and A9+, which were released in October 2023. Despite being a bit newer, the Galaxy Tab A9 series has already received its final major OS update, likely because it was a budget-oriented offering. It will still receive another year of security updates.