Galaxy S26 owners in the One UI 9 beta program are getting three features that were exclusive to their newest foldables until today, with the rollout starting August 28. My FanCam is the biggest addition, joined by an upgraded Now Brief and a smarter Now Nudge, and it narrows the video gap between the Galaxy S26 series and the Pixel 11 Pro XL.
What the One UI 9 beta update brings to the Galaxy S26
Samsung announced the update through Samsung Mobile Press this morning, and it starts reaching phones on August 28. Anyone already enrolled in the beta gets a notification to download it, so there is nothing to sign up for again.
My FanCam is the one most people will notice. It keeps a person you select in focus and then reframes the footage into different aspect ratios for social platforms, which saves us the cropping step after filming a group.
My FanCam crops around the dancer you pick and lets you choose the aspect ratio. | Image by Samsung
Now Brief is getting a lift too, pulling information and recommendations into customizable cards built around your routine, interests and daily needs. It also surfaces security and privacy insights now, flagging potential risks along with the protective step Samsung recommends you take.
Now Nudge, meanwhile, is being tuned for smarter and more contextual suggestions while you move through everyday tasks. A new report puts this in the Beta 7 build, which arrived only a few days after Beta 6.
Recommended For You
Which One UI 9 beta feature would you use most?
Foldable exclusivity ends right before the stable One UI 9 release
These three features shipped with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Series and Z Flip 8 back in July, and they have stayed there since. Our own One UI 9 hub still describes My FanCam as foldable-only, which is precisely what today's announcement changes.
Grab the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra at $1,000 off
$1099
99
$2099
99
$1000 off (48%)
Trade in an eligible device and save up to $1,000 on the new foldable phone from Samsung. With its refined design and large cover screen, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is a top pick for foldable phone fans. Alternatively, you can get a $200 Samsung credit if you don't trade in a device.
The Galaxy Z Flip 8 is now available at the official store. It features an improved build and offers a fantastic foldable experience. Buy yours and save up to $400 at Samsung with a trade-in. Alternatively, you can get the phone with a $100 Samsung credit, no trade-in required.
The timing is interesting, since the stable One UI 9 build for the Galaxy S26 lineup is expected in late August or early September. Beta testers are effectively getting a couple of weeks head start on features everyone else will see shortly anyway.
It should be noted that the beta itself is still limited to six countries, so most Galaxy S26 owners are waiting regardless.
On the rival side, we compared the Pixel 11 Pro XL and the Galaxy S26 Ultra in our review earlier this month and came down on Google's side for video. The reasoning was that Samsung had put its energy into professional recording formats and color grading, while Google shipped tools an average person would reach for, including automatic clip extraction and framing guides matched to TikTok and Reels.
My FanCam is Samsung answering that directly, and our Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra review already called it the more useful of the new Galaxy AI additions. If you carry a Pixel 11 Pro XL, though, this one probably does not change much for you, since the Creator tab covers a lot of the same ground.
Who gets the update today, and who keeps waiting
The beta is open to the Galaxy S26, S26 Plus and S26 Ultra in Germany, India, Korea, Poland, the UK and the US, and you join through the Beta Program banner in the Samsung Members app. Everyone outside that list waits for the stable rollout.
Now Brief pulls your day into cards and now flags privacy risks too. | Image by Samsung
One phone skips the queue entirely. The newest member of the S26 family arrived yesterday running One UI 9 out of the box, My FanCam included, without anyone having to opt into a beta at all.
One UI 9 is finally shaping up as a real upgrade
I have been fairly lukewarm on One UI 9 up to now, since most of what we have seen has been refinement rather than anything new. Handing the S26 series the features that sold the foldables changes that a little.
My FanCam is also the rare Galaxy AI feature with an obvious job, which is more than I can say for a briefing screen I tend to swipe past. Hopefully Samsung keeps this pattern going instead of holding the good stuff back for the next foldable, because I would personally love to see the S25 series get a turn before the year is out.
Johanna Romero is a Senior News Writer at PhoneArena, covering mobile technology news across Android, iOS, wearables, and the Google ecosystem she knows best. Drawing on 15 years in IT and tech support from 2007 to 2022, she brings a user-friendly eye for the practical features and lesser-known tricks readers care about. Google named her an official #TeamPixel member in 2022, and she also reviews the latest devices on her YouTube channel, JoJo the Techie.
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts:
New accounts created within the last 24 hours may experience restrictions on how frequently they can
post or comment.
These limits are in place as a precaution and will automatically lift.
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: