Nearly a decade late, Samsung has finally started supporting Android’s Seamless Updates feature, including on its new Galaxy S25 series.
Seamless Updates debuted in 2016 as a part of Android Nougat, and have been used ever since on Google Pixel devices, and adopted by many other brands over time. But Samsung has held off for a very long time.
That finally started to change in early 2024, as Samsung shipped its first Galaxy device with Seamless Updates available. The Galaxy A55 debuted support, but Samsung didn’t keep up the trend on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 released later in the year. Now, the company seems to be going all in by bringing Seamless Updates to the Galaxy S25.
On our Galaxy S25 Ultra, Seamless Updates are directly supported on a system level, as reported back by the Inware app.
We’ll have to wait and see how Seamless Updates look on this device, but as seen on the Galaxy A55, updates download and install in the background and then apply with a reboot. Previously, updates needed to be downloaded first, then the phone would reboot to an installation screen which could take several minutes, before later turning back on fully with the new version. Seamless Updates leave the phone fully usable while the update installs, and only takes a quick reboot to finish the installation.
Besides the usability improvements that come with Seamless Updates, the A/B partition nature of the method also makes it possible for Android to fall back to a stable software build if something goes wrong with a new update, as exceptionally rare as that may be.
Ultimately, the biggest reason anyone ever complains about seamless updates is because they’re “slow.” And that’s true, if you choose to sit there and watch your phone installing an update in the background. It’s much slower! But the vast majority of people don’t care about that. With many, it’s a miracle if the incoming update gets installed at all. With seamless updates, as the name implies, you’re getting a process that’s much faster for the people who are just using their phone as normal, with the added benefit that it’s safer in the rare occasion where something goes wrong.
The Galaxy S25 series is now available for pre-order from Samsung.com, with up to $1,200 in savings, plus an additional $50 off when you click on our links and order within 30 minutes.
- Galaxy S25/+ at Samsung.com
- Galaxy S25 Ultra at Samsung.com
More on Samsung:
- Samsung’s One UI 7 update both improves and absolutely ruins lock screen notifications
- This is what Samsung’s confusing ‘Galaxy Club’ add-on actually is
- Here’s the Galaxy S25 Edge – two cameras, launching ‘around’ April [Gallery]
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