When Will Your Samsung or Motorola Phone Get Android 10?
Android 10 is here, but there’s an important caveat – just because Google released Android 10 doesn’t mean you ‘ll get Android 10 like everyone else.
If you’re on a Pixel phone, you’re good to go. You can install the operating system right now and start experimenting. However, if you’re using an Android smartphone from any other manufacturer, your Android 10 timeline can be very different – just check out the Android Authority timeline for Android Pie if you want to see how insane the delays can be.
While we have no idea when each manufacturer is going to release Android 10 for their various devices – ah, fragmentation – there are still some educated guesses that can be made based on how this process went in the past. Peter Kostadinov from PhoneArena clarified the timeline and made several suggestions for both Samsung and Motorola:
Samsung
If you’re planning on ditching Android 10 for your quirky new Galaxy S10 or S10 + in August, think again. If Samsung doesn’t perform the holiday miracle, you probably won’t be able to try out its customized version of Android 10 until early 2020.
Looking back at Android Pie and the latest Samsung phones available at the time, the S9 / S9 + and Note 9, Samsung rolled out the operating system between December 2018 (S9 / S9 + international versions) to March 2019 (unlocked, Verizon, and T-Mobile version of Note 9). Galaxy S9 / S9 + owners on AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon seem to have gotten the Pie a bit earlier than T-Mobile or unlocked device owners; AT&T customers with Galaxy Note 9 received Android Pie earlier than other carriers.
In the future, Kostadinov does not expect a change in the release date for Android 10:
Galaxy S10 / S10 +
- Team: Late December 2019 / Early January 2020
- Unlocked in the US: February 2020
- Verizon: End of January 2020
- T-Mobile: End of January 2020
- AT&T: end of January 2020
- Sprint: end of January 2020
As for the upcoming Galaxy Note 10, it is expected to ship with Android Pie in August. It will likely receive Android 10 in the same time frame as the Galaxy Note 9 and Android Pie: around February / March 2020 for everyone except the international version of the device, who may see Android 10 in mid-January.
And, yes, your slightly older Galaxy S9 / S9 + and Galaxy Note 9 should also get Android 10, a little later than the release of the operating system for Samsung’s latest Galaxy-class smartphones.
Motorola
It took a while for the company to roll out Android Pie across its various devices – from last November with Moto One Power to Moto Z2 Force and Moto Z3 (Verizon versions) in July. To this Kostadinov best answered: “When it comes to software updates, Motorola is everywhere.”
Accordingly, here are his estimates of when various Motorola smartphones will be able to run Android 10:
- Moto Z4: January / February 2020
- Moto Z3 / Z3 Play: March / April 2020
- Moto G7 smartphones: February 2020
- Moto G6 / G6 Play: March / April 2020
- Moto Z2 Series: May / June 2020
If you compare the timelines, you will notice that the ratings for some of these phones are slightly pushed apart for Android 10 compared to Android Pie. This is because Motorola will likely prioritize upgrading new devices like the G7 over older devices like the Z2 series smartphones. It makes sense to us, although the wait doesn’t make it more fun.