Will your phone survive to see 7 years of updates? I used the galaxy S8 to find out

Samsung and Google came headlines last year when they announced that their Flagship Android phones would both get seven years updates. It would be a monumental achievement if they can pull it off, but will your phone even last so long?

To test this theory, I decided to go back to my seven -year -old Samsung Galaxy S8 and use it for a week. I wanted to see if it still held up after all that time and how it felt to use a phone that is old. Here’s what I discovered and how it went.

A stumbling stone to hold a phone for seven years is durability. There is a good chance that the phone’s screen will be crushed or cracked long before then, and repair costs have traditionally been extremely expensive. This often results in people leading to repairs in favor of getting a new phone (something expensive on a contract or a cheaper prepaid unit). Suppose you have kept the Galaxy S8 as long as I have done, and wanted to go through official channels to repair it and keep it going. You will not be able to because Samsung’s screen repair page shows no repair fees for the Galaxy S20 series or the older. I have asked the company about this. Five years of repair support is good now, but they will definitely be a bigger problem when phones with promises of seven years of updating now this threshold.

I had used the Galaxy S8 for about 18 months to 20 months before I switched, even though I had lent it out to friends here and there. But the good news is that my phone is still in a decent state despite taking a few case -clad tumbles. Some paint has tiled off the forehead, probably because of the case I used at that time, and I also noticed a prominent scratch on fingerprinted back. These are small cosmetic spots otherwise.

I do not intend to immerse the phone in water soon, as the rubber seals and coatings associated with water resistance are usually broken down over time. You can check if the phone’s seals are still intact via Water resistance test appthat uses the phone barometer as well as the thumb to check if the seals are still intact. The app notes that my phone is still water repellent, but it’s not something I want to put to the test with such an old device.

I also have to note that I really like the form factor here. It is not much less than Pixel 9 ProBut the compact size, thin design and curved edges still feel truly ergonomic compared to modern devices. Perhaps the biggest problem is the rear fingerprint scanner, which is in a difficult position. But hey, that supporting fingerprint movements (For example, swipe down to activate the warning shade). I really, really miss them.

Another hardware feature I really like on my galaxy S8 is Notification led. I miss this light too, and how it provided different colors for notifications from different apps – no setup necessary.

When I hit the Galaxy S8 and started using it I quickly realized that modern phones and Android Skins has come a long way. The phone is extremely laggy a while after starting up, even compared to modern Middle -up phones. There is a noticeable judgment when you press the recent apps button and a delay of several seconds when you press the power button to turn on the screen. These problems are mostly cleansed after 15 minutes or so, resulting in a phone that is generally even. When I said it, I still discovered a little backlog now and then, such as an extremely long wait when searching the settings menu and a noticeable break when I press the Google Search Bar. The phone even locked after uninstalling an app from the home screen.

The Galaxy S8 is currently stuck on Android 9 Pie, which is far behind the power Android 15 release. As I used it, I realized that I have become addicted to a few new features, such as notification permits and notification history. However, my biggest concern is that many apps sooner or later will stop working. In fact, I am not able to use Slack as the company now insists on Android 11 as a minimum version. WhatsApp still works here as well as the few good locking apps I tried. My bank app requires Android 8 Oreo, so it still works, but I wonder how long it will be before they all require a newer version.

However, there is a silver lining for this older version of Android, and that is the fact that 32-bit apps still work here. This means that my dozens of games acquired through humble bundles still work without any problems. You can also still use more powerful versions of apps such as the Cerberus Anti-theft app, which was stumbled by Google’s permission strike in the late 2010s. Of course, this experience will be very different for recent phones that are believed to get Android updates over the seven years; Apps should continue to be supported, and most recent features should be available to them.

Back in 2017, I used to struggle to get through a day of some heavy use on the Galaxy S8 without resorting to battery detour mode, and I just expected this to be an even bigger problem due to battery degradation. In fact, I saw the phone’s battery checking 20-25% while updating and installing apps over a two hour period. A whole day of typical use is of the cards here, so you either need to baby your phone or switch to the battery period if you hold a phone for so long. I’m sure a battery replacement will help, but this is not a detachable battery. I have asked Samsung if it still offers battery replacements for old Galaxy phones (eg Galaxy S7 and S8) and will update the article accordingly.

At least the phone has one USB-C harbor. It sounds like a no-Brainer, but this was actually the first Galaxy S phone with USB-C, despite the standard debut on phones in 2015. Unfortunately, the phone takes over 90 minutes to charge via my 65W charger. Yep, the Galaxy S8 was released at a time when 15w charging was considered decent.

It’s not all bad. I liked the Iris scanner at that time despite the slow scan rate under ideal conditions and reduced the efficiency of direct sunlight. That scanner is still something nice today, especially if you have wet hands. And unlike 2D facial locking, it works in a dark room. I also like the virtual home button, which followed in Apple and Meizus footsteps, which gave you some good haptic feedback when you long pressed on the bottom of the display.

The Galaxy S8 also generally cope well with the vast majority of games. I was able to run those like Pubg Mobile and Grid Autosport evenly enough. Just don’t expect the most demanding titles to run very well. Meanwhile, someone emulators May be a little too advanced for Exynos 8895 or the Snapdragon 835 chip. So you should not have high hopes of demanding GameCube and PS2 titles if you are a retro game enthusiast.

The Galaxy S8’s 12MP Bakkamera can still do the job during the day, largely because this is the first Samsung phone with multi-frames image processing. Expect similar colors as modern Galaxy phones And a solid level of detail. However, I noticed increased glare, and you do not have the advantage of a telecommunications or ultra -camera for increased flexibility. But I was still surprised to see how well the phone was holding up. The camera really shows the age in low light, with night shoots that are noticeably darker, blurry and noisier than modern camera phones. This is largely due to the lack of night mode here. And you don’t want to realize how much you really need it before using a phone without it. In addition to the missing night mode, the Galaxy S8 also skips the latest additions as a single take and portrait mode.

Best of all, the Galaxy S8 retains two features that have disappeared from most flagships Android phones. Yep, we’re talking about Headphone and MicroSD card. The latter is especially important as the device is only sent with 64 GB of internal storage. Don’t expect esim, unfortunately, but at least it’s a Nano-SIM track here instead of the older micro-SIM standard.

I had low expectations when I returned to the Galaxy S8 after all this time. And after spending a week with the phone, I’m just glad to go back to a modern Android device. The somewhat janky system performance, aging Android version and poor battery life are all the characteristics of old Android phones, but I’m still disappointed to see these problems emerge. Glacial wired charging and the poorly located fingerprint scanner are two cherries on this old cake.

There are still some areas that left me impressed. The performance is still good enough for most games, what the camera still keeps in order during the day, and I really appreciate the extra hardware features that have disappeared from modern phones (MicroSD cards, headphone contact, IRIS scanner).

On paper, Samsung and Google’s current phones should ages even better than the Galaxy S8. The promise of seven years updates means you should have the latest version of Android Come 2032, for one. Nor does it hurt that initiatives such as Project Mainline Mean Parts of the OS can be updated without requiring a full version upgrade. We have also seen Google offer improvements to battery health, with Pixel 8a And newer now hit 80% efficient capacity after 1000 charging cycles (up from 800 cycles).

When you say so, there are still a few areas of concern when it comes to using modern phones for seven years or longer. Perhaps the biggest challenge will be whether you can get your phone repaired or at least obtain official spare parts for DIY repairs. Samsung’s screen repair website does not fill me with hope even if Google told us that Offers spare parts for seven years. I am also very keen on degraded battery life on a device like the Galaxy S25, which has a small battery to begin with.

Still, a week of using the Galaxy S8 was less painful than I expected, even though I had low expectations anyway. Today’s phones should make it even better with their mentioned improvements, but the biggest enemy with long -term use is the lack of user -exportable batteries. So I can’t wait for the next wave of phones that offer this feature as part of the EU’s new law. In other words, wait for the Galaxy S26 and Pixel 11 if you really want a phone that will go the distance.