Forget "early" – One UI 8 may be arriving ahead of early

One UI 8's beta program may open even earlier than expected, as soon as... well, in just a couple of weeks, if the latest leak is to be believed.

Samsung seems to be working hard on ensuring One UI 8's fate won't be the same as One UI 7's (all the delays and hiccups). We've heard One UI 8's beta testing may start earlier than anticipated, and now the folks at SamMobile are saying the beta program may start even earlier than that!

SamMobile cites unnamed sources claiming that the One UI 8 beta program may be initiated in the third week of May. Reportedly, the beta program may not be as widely available as previous beta programs by Samsung. It could be only for select devices in limited markets.

According to the publication, a wider rollout of the beta program is expected in June.



Earlier, the first One UI 8 beta build was seen, so it seems Samsung is really pushing to deliver the new software version without delays. The Android 16-based One UI 8 is expected to be available to the public in the second half of the year. Some say the foldable phones - the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 - may come with it. If not, the new skin should be publicly available soon after the two foldables' launch.

One UI 8 is more of a refinement update, from what we hear. There won't be too many major new features, unlike One UI 7, but that makes quite a lot of sense. One UI 8 will bring Android 16, which would help Samsung fans not feel too left out, as was the case with the delayed One UI 7.

Recently, a leak indicated that One UI 8 will bring some nice improvements to the Now Bar. The tweak would allow the Now Bar to show even more information at a glance, making it even more useful. The Now Bar was introduced with One UI 7, and it's a Dynamic Island-like feature that lets you control some apps and get some info straight from your lock screen.

Meanwhile, Apple is working on iOS 19, which may bring some significant changes to the iPhone 17 series coming in September. All the while, Android is cooking a new design language, Material 3 Expressive, that also leaked recently.

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