Indeed Samsung’s One UI 8 doesn’t appear to be bringing various visual enhancements, but the latest Android 16-based version is considered to be the most significant update that will bring some superior upgrades as compared to One UI 7. One among them is security.
Basically, a new report flashed online via XDA Developers, suggesting that Samsung seems to be allegedly locking its Galaxy devices in a more secure manner than before with the One UI 8 version.
Samsung Galaxy devices bear the capability to unlock the bootloader; meanwhile, the report basically revealed that Samsung is perhaps looking towards removing the ability to unlock the bootloader on more devices, while also adding a line that hints to the same: androidboot.other.locked=1. This restriction includes international models that were supporting the functionality before.
However, the US-based Samsung Galaxy phones never had the OEM Unlocking toggle, an option that efficiently stops users from unlocking the bootloader and installing custom ROMs. Thankfully, Samsung is making efforts to apply this restriction on its Galaxy devices across the globe.
Well, the latest One UI 8 firmware significantly suggests that the bootloader unlocking restrictions are also available on the non-US-based Galaxy devices, and thus the functionality is not specific to any region.
Also, Samsung’s One UI 8 is currently only available on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 models, while the Galaxy S25series is testing the third beta version. It’s expected that the company will expand the latest Android 16-based version to more Galaxy devices in the coming future.
