Samsung's Android 16 Update Appears Earlier Than Expected

Samsung’s update approach has been all over the place after what was a period of consistent updates over the last couple of years. Samsung’s internal testing of One UI 8 based on Android 16 mirrors the timeline of One UI 6, which was the last time the company was on track.

One UI 7 is still, for the most part, in beta. The Galaxy S25 is the only series to have the full version, and the S24 lineup has been in beta testing since last year. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 just started receiving beta updates, as well.

According to Tarun Vats on Twitter/X, Samsung has initiated internal testing on One UI 8 based on Android 16. These tests are not accessible to the public and mark the company’s initial attempts to work on the next version of One UI. This One UI 8 testing comes a couple of months earlier than normal, according to the post. One UI 7 was first seen in May of last year, putting this internal testing ahead of that by two months.

When One UI 6 first appeared, that was apparently also earlier than normal by two months, and that was the last release Samsung got right. This could just be a new pattern meant to keep up with software release schedules. Samsung was consistently late with One UI 7 releases, and that bout of testing did not begin early. Hopefully, this will put One UI 8 ahead of schedule for the entire timeline, though there are no guarantees.

One UI 8 won’t be available to users for some time. Samsung’s surfaced internal testing One UI 8 builds based on Android 16 are specific to the Galaxy S25. If history repeats itself, One UI 8 may be available in beta sometime around December.