The big day has arrived for (some) Galaxy S24 series, Z Fold 6, and Z Flip 6 owners
Samsung is truly outdoing itself with the stable One UI 8 rollout, spreading the Android 16-based update to a bunch of high-end phones... in South Korea.
After surprisingly releasing not just the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 with One UI 8 out the box, but the Galaxy S25 FE as well, Samsung set some very ambitious targets for the over-the-air delivery of the new Android 16-based update to many of its older devices, and for the time being, it looks like (many of) those goals will incredibly be met or even exceeded.
The entire Galaxy S24 family and Samsung's 2024 foldables are ready to join the party
Before you get too excited, allow me to stress that there's no point in checking your phone for a notification to download the official collection of One UI 8 goodies outside of South Korea... just yet.
The Z Fold 6 and the S24 Ultra are just two of the phones being updated to One UI 8 as we speak. | Image Credit -- PhoneArena
Even in Samsung's homeland, the stable update appears to only be available at the time of this writing for Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 users who participated in the two foldables' public One UI 8 beta testing program. That makes the update uncharacteristically small, at only around 600MB, but don't worry, everyone else will (eventually) get a massive 4GB or so package filled with (largely subtle) UI tweaks, handy new features, various performance enhancements, and security patches.
Obviously, that depends on exactly where you live, what device you own, your luck, and perhaps most importantly, whether or not Samsung will have any serious bugs to deal with as One UI 8 reaches more and more countries and more and more devices.
If everything goes according to plan and the company doesn't run into a One UI 7 situation all of a sudden, that September 25 date that seemed so unlikely at first could turn into a reality (and not just in Brazil). Yes, I believe you should expect your Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, S24 Ultra, Z Fold 6, or Z Flip 6 unit to be able to leave the Android 15-based One UI 7 version behind as soon as this Thursday (almost) regardless of where you're based.
If you don't own any of those high-end phones and are instead relying on a mid-range Galaxy A56 5G or Galaxy A36 5G as your daily driver, you could... amazingly get One UI 8 on September 25 as well, which means that the two's updates are also likely to kick off in South Korea at some point in the next 24 hours.
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The Galaxy S23 family, Z Fold 5, Z Flip 5, A55 5G, A35 5G, A26, A17, and A17 5G might then incredibly follow suit on October 2, although it's probably safe not to look that far down the road just yet.
Is Samsung the heavyweight champion of software updates again?
As long as we exclude Google (and Apple) from that contest for fairly obvious reasons, I think the answer is a clear and resounding yes. While the likes of Sony and Motorola are (timidly) starting their own Android 16 rollouts for select (unpopular) devices in select regions, Samsung is out there ready to update millions and millions of Galaxy phones (and, soon enough, tablets) with a proprietary and heavily modified version of Google's latest mobile OS.
That's something no brand can even dream of rivaling right now, looking set to wash the bad taste out of the mouths of many Galaxy users after the One UI 7 fiasco of last spring... and winter... and fall.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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