It’s a question we hear all the time: “Should I upgrade to the latest version?” Here’s the short answer — always take the latest software update. Only upgrade your hardware if your device is 3–4 years old or more.
Why this is good news
RealSAM products are really three things bundled together: software on the device, software on our servers, and the hardware itself. It’s easy to assume the hardware is what matters most — after all, it’s built right into the product name (RealSAM Pocket A15, RealSAM Pocket A16 etc). But the hardware isn’t what’s doing the heavy lifting, plus most of our hardware changes are actually caused by the underlying devices only having a roughly 12-18 month sales window.
Every RealSAM device — old or new — gets the same server updates within 24 hours of its release. No one is left behind. Most of the newest features live on our servers, not on the device, so a customer with a two-year-old device has access to exactly the same capabilities as someone with a brand-new one. That means there’s rarely a reason to chase “the latest hardware” just to keep up — the software already takes care of that.
When a hardware upgrade does make sense
Hardware capabilities change slowly, but there are a few real reasons to recommend a change:
- End of life. As a rough rule of thumb, Samsung and Google stop supporting a device’s underlying software around 7 years after it first goes on sale from them. Once that happens, we can no longer fix all issues that may occur.
- Battery life. Lithium-ion batteries usually start showing noticeable wear after about 4 years.
- Chipset gaps. Occasionally a hardware capability simply isn’t there — our earliest devices, for example, couldn’t run GPS services because they had the wrong chipset New capabilities can also appear with little or no warning ahead of launch.
So the 3–4 year mark is a useful line: below that, hardware upgrades are optional. Above that, it’s worth a closer look.
How to check your version
Customers can find their software version two ways: in the “About” menu on the touchscreen, or simply by asking the device for its “Version.” Either will confirm they’re up to date.
