Samsung's work-focused Note 8 has better support than your phone

Wish your Android phone maker of choice would offer software updates for longer than the usual couple of years? You might want to ask your company's IT manager. Samsung has released an Enterprise Edition of the Galaxy Note 8 whose centerpiece is its "PC-class" support. It's the same hardware you can buy at the local store, but Samsung is promising up to 3 years of monthly security updates -- why can't all its Android devices get that kind of backing, regardless of who's buying? We could see that extended update timeline helping personal users worried that their phones will be vulnerable to exploits that pop up after the usual support period is over.

Samsung is also promising that companies can buy the same models up to 2 years after their initial release, so they won't have a hodge-podge of different devices unless that's what they actually want. Beyond support, the differences mostly come down to corporate-friendly software. Samsung's Knox tools make it easier for the IT crew to deploy custom configurations and schedule updates.

The Enterprise Edition costs $994, which isn't that much more than the up-front price for a regular Note 8. Just don't expect to snap one up for your own use. You'll have to arrange a purchase through a sales rep -- this is clearly meant for large-scale deployments where companies are buying devices in bulk.