Samsung's current One UI 8 update schedule is super-ambitious, but can it be pulled off?
There are so many Galaxy phones and tablets Samsung expects to be able to update to the latest Android version in October and November that it's legitimately hard to count them all.
Hot on the heels of yesterday's One UI 8 deployment for the Galaxy S25 family (in South Korea), Samsung has released a preliminary roadmap for the next couple of months that includes nearly 60 (!!!) devices waiting to be updated to the latest Android version.
This massive list of new and old Galaxy phones and tablets also specifically concerns the company's homeland, but ifSamsung manages to hit all its domestic targets currently set for October and November, you can expect loads of the same OS promotions to happen around the world as well by the end of the year.
Here's when your device is likely to get Android 16
November - Galaxy Z Fold 5, Z Flip 5, Jump 3, Galaxy Tab S8, Tab S8 Plus, Tab S8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 4, Z Flip 4, Galaxy A15, Buddy 3, Galaxy A16, A24, A33, Wide 7, Jump 2, Galaxy Tab Active 5 Pro, Tab A9, Tab A9 Plus, Tab A11.
I hope you didn't try to read that whole list in one breath, but if you did, be sure to sit down, have a sip of water, and don't try to operate any heavy machinery until you catch your breath again.
To call this timetable ambitious (which I guess I did in my headline at the top there) would probably be the understatement of the century, especially knowing full well that there will be device manufacturers (possibly even major ones) incapable of bringing stable Android 16 goodies to a single phone by December.
How long are you willing to wait for your One UI 8 update?
As long as it takes to ensure stability
37.5%
No longer than a couple of months
8.33%
I'll be happy if it comes before Christmas
25%
I want it YESTERDAY!
29.17%
Basically, if you bought (almost) any Galaxy device, be it low, mid, or high-end, in the last two or three years, you can expect (or at least hope for) an update to the latest Android version (with the latest proprietary One UI enhancements added on top) to take place over the next two months or so.
Will Samsung pull it all off?
That, my dear friends and readers, is the million-dollar question no one can answer at the moment, with recent history not exactly being on Samsung's side or making me very optimistic.
The super-modest Galaxy A15 is incredibly one of the phones currently scheduled for a One UI 8 update in November. | Image Credit -- PhoneArena
The world's largest smartphone vendor had similarly bold plans for its Android 15-based One UI 7 rollout back in January, but those were ruined by a long string of unexpected issues and bugs that caused embarrassing delays even for the Galaxy S24 family.
The three early 2024-released powerhouses had to wait months and months to leave One UI 6 behind, and even when that finally happened, not everything went according to plan. Then again, Samsung's Android 14-based One UI 6 rollout went a lot more smoothly in late 2023 and early 2024, so there's definitely a chance that the heavyweight champion of Android updates will return to form this fall.
Let's be honest, Android has come a long way in recent years in terms of convenience and functionality, so Samsung didn't have to add a lot of bells and whistles on top of Google's latest OS version, which it absolutely did not do.
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Instead, the company mainly focused on refinement, visual elegance, and of course, AI optimizations, wrapping up a collection of software goodies that will undoubtedly improve the stability and helpfulness of not just high-end devices like the Galaxy S24, Z Fold 6, or Tab S10 Ultra, but budget-friendly Android soldiers like the Galaxy A15, A36, and Galaxy Tab A9 as well.
So, yes, if you ask me, you should absolutely treat the impending arrival of One UI 8 as a big deal, and rejoice if Samsung does manage to deliver dozens and dozens of these updates in October and November.
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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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