How Samsung turned months of inactivity into a very attention-seeking smartphone

Updating a 2022 Samsung Galaxy A33 Android smartphone took me a year of using it as my daily device, as it performed adequately but was not the swiftest of smartphones. The opportunity to purchase a premium handset at a bargain prompted me to keep the A33 as a backup, confident that Samsung would continue to support it with security updates until 2027.

Throughout the winter in Sydney, Australia, the phone kept complaining about moisture in its USB-C port, refusing to charge. As wireless charging was not an option due to the budget nature of the device, I waited for the warmer spring weather. When the temperature rose above 30°C (86°F) during a weekend, I left the phone in a well-ventilated spot to dry out. Once the moisture evaporated, I managed to charge the phone and installed six consecutive updates within seconds of the first notification.

The A33's sluggish performance was a result of these overlapping updates and frequent reboots necessary for installation. While I was not in a hurry to install all updates immediately, it took me two days of occasional attention to get the phone back to a functional state. This experience reinforced my belief in Richard Speed's argument that manufacturers should ship better software, reducing the reliance on updates and improving the update process for users.

To address this issue, Samsung could consider bundling past updates into single, cumulative downloads, minimizing the need for multiple intervention points when a device is offline for extended periods. Additionally, the company could enhance its Smart Switch desktop app to detect devices needing multiple updates and inform users about the possibility of installing all updates simultaneously through the app.