Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Starts Receiving Android 13-Based One UI 5.1 Update: Report

It's been more than two years since Samsung announced and launched its Galaxy Note 20 smartphone. The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 along with the more expensive Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, turned out to be the last of the Note series, as Samsung ended up skipping on the “phablet” model in 2021, but added S-Pen support on its Galaxy S21 Ultra model instead. Come 2022, Samsung officially made it clear that the Note series was no more as it announced the Galaxy S22 Ultra with an integrated S-Pen. Despite the Note series being discontinued, Samsung seems to be sticking to its claims about delivering software updates. And after receiving the previous updates as per Samsung's schedule, the Galaxy Note 20 has finally started receiving its One UI 5.1 update.

Samsung's One UI 5.1 software is based on Android 13 and brings plenty of new features to Samsung's Galaxy devices. According to SamMobile, the software update has been delivered ahead of schedule according to Samsung's planned update release roadmap, with users in Argentina getting it first. It's also wise to keep in mind that this is the non-5G version of the Galaxy Note 20 (SM-N980) that is currently receiving the update. The source also claims that it's likely to be a phased rollout, so it will be a while before the same is made available in other regions. However, the firmware can be downloaded and installed manually, as well from SamMobile's firmware section.

Samsung's One UI 5.1 is not a milestone update as was One UI 5.0, which was the first to bring Android 13 to Samsung devices. One UI 5.1 is more about bringing additional features and performance improvements. One UI 5.1 is the first to integrate Samsung's Expert RAW camera app for RAW imaging, into the default camera app. It also introduces a new dynamic weather widget which will showcase the current weather conditions by creating a custom design for every user.

Modes and Routines now include customisable wallpapers and ringtones and can also have customised touch sensitivity and fonts as well. The Smart Suggestions widget now also comes with Spotify integration. The bigger and broader updates also include expanded Multi Control between Galaxy Book and smartphones, enabling mouse and keyboard use for a Galaxy smartphone from a Galaxy Book.

Samsung recently announced that the Galaxy S23 series of smartphones, which includes the Galaxy S23, the Galaxy S23 Plus and the Galaxy S23 Ultra, will be the first devices to run One UI 5.1. This would be followed by a wider rollout to other recently launched premium devices, which would include the Galaxy S22 series, the Galaxy S21 series and the Galaxy S20 series. This also includes Samsung's recent foldables lineup, which includes devices like the Galaxy Z Fold 3, the Galaxy Z Flip 3, the Galaxy Z Fold 4, the Galaxy Z Flip 4.