Do unlocked Samsung phones get updates quicker?

[Bermuda_Man]

I'm a Verizon customer looking to upgrade my Galaxy S6 and I have a question for the gurus out there.

I'm considering getting an unlocked S8 instead of the carrier version maknly because I've always heard unlocked phones get updates sooner. Is this still true or do the carrier versions get updates sooner now?

Are there any benefits to getting a carrier model vs unlocked?

Thanks for everyone's help.

 

[anon(238680)]

I believe, from what I've seen here on the forums, that the opposite is true, updates take longer.

 

[Rukbat]

Carrier-branded phones get updates from the carrier. Unbranded phones get updates from Samsung, and since they have to do that all over the world, instead of just one country (like Verizon does), it usually takes longer.

 

[Bermuda_Man]

This does make sense, thanks for the reply.

 

[Bermuda_Man]

Thanks to everyone for the help.

 

[Tim1954]

My unlocked S8 (SMG950F) is on July security patch.
However, I don't get any carrier bloat and am not locked to any network, so when I travel, I get a local prepaid and away I go...

 

[Bermuda_Man]

That's more recent than my S6 lol. I'm wondering how long it will take you to get Oreo vs Verizon phones?

 

[Rukbat]

The S6 was specified to update to Nougat. You may never get Oreo. (And you can't complain - even flagship phones only get 2 updates. My Note 3 is still on Lollipop and it won't be getting any further updates.)

 

[Bermuda_Man]

Oh no, I have no expectations at all of getting Oreo on my S6 lol. As you said, I've already gotten my allotment of updates for that phone.

I was only wondering how long it would take an unlocked S8 to get it vs a carrier branded S8.

 

[Rukbat]

I've seen Samsung updates come faster and I've seen carrier updates come faster. It's a toss of the dice. They make a list of phones to be updated and update a few at a time (to avoid overloading the servers). Where your phone gets placed on the list, Samsung or carrier, is pretty random.

 

[Bermuda_Man]

Thanks again to everyone for the education, the help is greatly appreciated!