Galaxy S Release Dates: Every Samsung Flagship in Order

Samsung runs a predictable annual cycle. Here is the flagship timeline, plus what the pattern tells you about when to buy.

Galaxy S release timeline

Note the drift: early Galaxy S phones launched in April–June, but from the S21 onward Samsung moved to January–February. The move was deliberate — launching early puts Samsung's flagship in the market months ahead of the autumn iPhone cycle.

Samsung also skipped from S10 to S20 in 2020, aligning the number with the year rather than the generation count.

The Note line, and where it went

The Note line ended after the Note 20. Its defining feature, the S Pen, moved to the Galaxy S Ultra, starting with the S22 Ultra in 2022. See does Samsung still make the Note.

There was no Note 6 — Samsung jumped from 5 to 7 to align with the S7. The Note 7 was recalled and discontinued over battery fires, one of the most costly product recalls in consumer electronics.

Samsung's annual pattern

Samsung runs roughly two Unpacked events per year:

• January or February — Galaxy S flagships
• July or August — foldables (Z Fold and Z Flip), plus watches and other wearables

Mid-range A-series phones launch on a looser schedule, usually in the first half of the year.

When to buy

The cycle creates predictable pricing:

• At launch — highest price, but the strongest trade-in and pre-order bundles Samsung offers all year. If you are trading in an old phone, launch is often genuinely competitive.
• Two to three months after launch — the first meaningful discounts appear.
• Just before the next launch (December–January) — the previous flagship is at its cheapest.
• Foldables discount faster than S-series, often significantly within a few months.

The previous year's flagship shortly before a new launch is usually the best value in Samsung's range. It still has years of software support remaining and typically costs far less than the incoming model.

How long each model is supported

Samsung's support commitment has lengthened considerably. Recent flagship and mid-range Galaxy devices receive several years of major Android upgrades plus security patches — among the longest in the Android industry.

Older models had shorter commitments, so a phone from several generations back may already be out of support. Check yours under Settings › About phone › Software information and look at the security patch date.

Working out which model you have

Model numbers encode the generation. SM-S928B is an S24 Ultra; SM-S911B is an S23. See what Samsung phone do I have to decode yours and identify the regional variant.

A note on future models

Samsung does not confirm release dates in advance, and rumoured specifications circulate for months before launch and are frequently wrong. The reliable guide is the pattern itself: expect a Galaxy S announcement in January or February, with sales starting two to three weeks after the announcement, and foldables in the second half of the year.

In short

Galaxy S flagships launch in Q1, now typically January or February, having drifted earlier from an April–June window in the early 2010s. Foldables arrive in July or August. The Note line ended in 2020 and its S Pen moved to the S Ultra models.

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