Samsung’s Android 16 News Surprises Galaxy S25 And S24 Owners
What now for Samsung and Android?
This should not be happening again. Whisper it quietly, but is there another set of Android update delays heading for flagship Galaxy owners as Android 16 and One UI 8 stutter at what should be the final hurdle?
Samsung’s One UI 7 rollout was described as a disaster, opening a six month gap to Pixels as the Galaxy-maker seemed to struggle to get a stable releases out to its phones. Telling users this was all about ensuring a bug-free release didn’t help.
Just as with Android 15, Google’s latest releases brings a raft of security and privacy upgrades to phones, and given the worsening mobile threat landscape, users want these as soon as possible. One UI 8 also fixes a security issue of Samsung’s own making.
Now according to SamMobile, while “we were so close to a stable One UI 8 release for the Galaxy S25.” the bad news is the newest phone’s One UI 8 beta “removes features [and]
delays [the] final release.” This latest build, “throws a spanner in the works.”
This won’t just come as a nasty surprise for Galaxy S25 owners, it will also hit Galaxy S24 owners hard — especially as they also bore the brunt of the One UI 7 delays.
“Once again,” SamMobile says, “whether Samsung will release the One UI 8 beta build ZYG5 to Galaxy S25 testers is unknown, but the firmware exists on Samsung’s servers, which indicates that the company isn’t finished working on the update.”
This isn’t the only bad news. SammyFans warns that “after months of beta testing and recent feature removals, it’s becoming clear that One UI 8 won’t be the game-changing update many Galaxy users were hoping for. Instead, we are looking at what feels more like a routine monthly maintenance update than a major software overhaul.”
The best new security features coming with Android 16 is Google’s new Advanced Protection Mode, which significantly narrows the gap to the more secure iPhone — critical when it comes to flagships costing between $1000 and $2000.
This security shield restricts dangerous wireless and fired connections, shores up safer browsing and also stops apps from being installed from outside official stores — which is a good thing. It’s recommended for all security conscious users.
Fortunately, Samsung users don’t need to wait for the Android 16 / One UI 8 upgrade to get almost all those benefits. Just ensure you have enabled Maximum Protections on your phone, a Samsung-specific setting that does most of the same.