With the Galaxy S25 series already exploring the beta version of One UI 8, Samsung is almost ready to expand the One UI 8 Beta program for more Galaxy devices, beginning next week. While perhaps a bunch of Galaxy models are eligible to receive Android 16, the Galaxy S21 FE is also equally eligible, but why not its other siblings, the Galaxy S21 family?
Here’s why the Galaxy S21 FE is eligible for receiving the Android 16-based One UI 8 update and the S21 series is not:
Samsung launched the Galaxy S21 series, consisting of the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and Galaxy S21 Ultra, at the end of January 2021, whereas the Galaxy S21 FE, which was earlier planned to be unveiled by the end of 2021, was released in early January 2022.
Since the fan edition model was more delayed than its other siblings, Samsung debuted the Galaxy S21 FE models with a newer Android 12 version, while at the same time, the Galaxy S21 series came up with the year-older Android 11.
More specifically, Samsung Galaxy devices receive updates according to their dedicated software update policy, and thus, here also the same phenomenon has been applied.
In simple words, as per Samsung’s update policy, the Galaxy S21 series alongside Galaxy S21 FE models are significantly eligible for receiving four generations of major OS and 5 years of security patches, and following this strategy, the Galaxy S21 FE is obviously eligible for receiving Android 16 (One UI 8), while the major OS support has already ended for the Galaxy S21 family, and they will not be getting One UI 8 and Android 16 anyway.
