Samsung is among the best smartphone manufacturers when it comes to delivering software updates to its entire Galaxy ecosystem, and that too on time via its dedicated software update policy. Meanwhile, a new report claims that the company appears to be looking towards changing its software update procedure.
Samsung May Shift Major Android/One UI Updates to Launch with Galaxy Z Series Instead of S Series
Surprisingly, a new leak from Ice Universe on X via Android Authority suggests that Samsung is expected to change its future software update schedule, where it’s supposed to be possibly aligning the major One UI version with Google’s Android release.
More specifically, explaining the entire scenario, the tipster mentioned that Samsung appears to be making a significant change in the software update procedure for not only its Galaxy S series but also aligning it with the Z Series models. From now on, for each generation of Z series phones, it will be receiving major One UI versions that are drastically aligned with Google’s Android release.
In simple words, One UI 8 is based on Android 16, and One UI 9 is supposed to run Android 17, which in turn are aligned with the foldables, where it’s expected that the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 8 will be released with stable One UI 9 that will run Android 17 out of the box.
On the other hand, changes will possibly be arriving for each generation of the Galaxy S series, where it will receive software updates to the One UI x.5 version. So far, Galaxy S series models are the first to receive major stable One UI x.0 version updates, but from now on, these flagships will be receiving the One UI x.5 update instead of the One UI x.0 version.
However, the software update elements are more significant as compared to the Galaxy Z series, which includes more new UI and UX designs, improved AI features, and major software enhancements. Since Samsung has always prioritized its Galaxy S series, and the next S series’ development timeline from foldables is comparatively longer, Samsung has enough time to refine the updates.
Well, if the leak is to be believed, then the next generation Galaxy S26 series will debut with One UI 8.5, and at the same time, One UI 9 will be reserved for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Flip 8 models.
