Google has made a significant shift in its Android security update policy this month. As of the April 2025 security patch, the company has officially dropped support for Android 12 and Android 12L. This means devices running these versions (or older) will no longer receive Google’s monthly security updates. Only devices running Android 13 and newer will benefit from these patches.
No more security updates for Android 12 devices starting April 2025
Every month, Google rolls out a security patch for Android devices, addressing a wide range of vulnerabilities across various system services. Samsung takes this patch, adds a bunch of Galaxy fixes to it, and pushes the update to eligible Galaxy smartphones and tablets worldwide. These updates are also rolled out to devices launched several years back, as long as they are eligible for software support.
Starting this month, Google has stopped offering security support to devices running Android 12 or Android 12L (a special version for large-screen devices). This means your phone must be running Android 13 or newer to get these monthly security updates. For Galaxy users, it’s One UI5 or newer. Well, Samsung dropped support for One UI 4 a while ago, so this change from Google has little to no impact on the Galaxy family.
Nonetheless, with Google now withdrawing support for Android 12 and older versions, it’s high time users upgrade to a device running a newer Android release. The latest release in Android 15, which comes with One UI 7 for Galaxy users. Google is gearing up to launch Android 16 in June. Samsung is expected to introduce One UI 8 the following month.
The Korean firm is currently in the process of updating its phones to One UI 7. It may not complete the rollout until July of this year. Meanwhile, it will continue to push the latest security patches to eligible devices. The April update is already available for a bunch of phones, with more expected to join the party soon. We will keep you posted.
