Another (small) batch of Galaxy S26 series users in the US are getting a nice surprise today

Samsung's stable One UI 9 update for the Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra is finally expanding to US unlocked units, but don't get too excited just yet.

Samsung Galaxy S26 series
The Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra are all getting better, faster, and safer... for some users. | Image by PhoneArena
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Samsung's undeniably messy One UI 9 rollout continues its snail-like expansion, reportedly reaching some Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra owners stateside as of late Sunday night.

This is definitely the best news I've heard regarding the company's Android 17-based update in almost a week, but at the same time, it doesn't bring Samsung anywhere near to the point we all expected it to be by now when the stable One UI 9 deployment was officially kicked off in South Korea almost two weeks ago.

Exactly what devices are getting the update today and where?


For the time being, it appears only unlocked S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra units in the US are following the examples of their T-Mobile-specific equivalents. Even worse, stable One UI 9 adds-on and performance enhancements are confirmed to be exclusively making their way to users previously enrolled in Samsung's public beta testing program.


As such, the goodie pack currently being discussed on Reddit merely tips the scales at around 645MB, which is a far cry from what T-Mobile was miraculously able to deliver to its subscribers last week.

Once again, I don't have an official and complete changelog to share with you just yet, but if you did participate in Samsung's beta tests, you probably already know (more or less) what to expect in terms of new features, security improvements, and other key usability upgrades.

Will the update go global this week?


It absolutely should, but there are clearly no guarantees after Samsung missed its self-imposed first deadline for the Galaxy S26 family in Thailand by a week already. Today, remember, was initially supposed to be the day when the Galaxy S25, S25 Plus, S25 Ultra, Z Fold 7, and Z Flip 7 would join the S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra in running stable One UI 9, but that's almost certainly not happening anymore.

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At best, the S26 trio could start receiving the new OS later today on carriers like AT&T and Verizon in the US and in key markets across Europe and Asia, with the other aforementioned high-end Galaxy devices then following suit by the end of the week.

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But that's probably the most optimistic scenario that I'm not sure will pan out anymore. That's because Samsung has likely run into some sort of last-minute bugs or glitches that have prevented the update from following a "typical" rollout schedule. I'm afraid that's the only explanation that makes even a modicum of sense, although I wouldn't go so far (yet) to call these mystery issues serious enough to mess with the One UI 9 upgrade the way the One UI 7 rollout was disturbed in late 2024 and early 2025.

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