Samsung has announced the next generation of its folding phones, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7, and with them One UI 8, the next generation of Samsung’s mobile operating system based on Android 16.
As we recently reported, One UI 8 is likely to come with a selection of useful new features, but we're still fairly light on confirmed new features.
As it stands, it looks like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 will be the first phones to launch with One UI 8, a refreshed software experience to compliment the phones' newly slimmed-down hardware.
As keen Samsung fans will know, it’s not actually been all that long since the release of One UI 7, based on Android 15, which finally came to a wider range of Samsung devices in April of this year.
However, the release of One UI 7 was preceded by a saga of delays, issues, and confusion, as Samsung seemingly struggled to get its next update out the door. One UI 7 first appeared with the Galaxy S25 series in February 2025, but this was technically a pre-release build that remained exclusive to the latest Samsung flagships for a good few months.
My confidence in one of the world’s best Android phone makers shook as the beta period dragged on into the spring of 2025.
One UI 7 finally got a wide release in April 2025, 18 months after the release of One UI 6.
However, foregrounding One UI 8 so soon after the troubled release of One UI 7 suggests confidence. This is Samsung announcing that it’s ready to step forward again – but in order to win back my trust, this coming rollout needs to look a little different.
A chance to do it right
One UI 7 technically launched with the Galaxy S25 series back in February, but Samsung was slow to bring the update to users of its older models.
Things got even more confusing with the release of the Galaxy A26, A36, and A56, budget-focused handsets that nonetheless launched with One UI 7 before several older flagships had even been given release dates.
This never sat right with me – though One UI 7 was a huge update that naturally took a while to port to older models, it felt like Samsung users had been left in the dark. I couldn't imagine spending $1,249 / £1,200 / A$2,199 on a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, only to be left waiting more than a year for your very first major operating system update.
With One UI 8, Samsung has a chance to prove to the world – and more importantly its customers – that previous-generation models and users are still a priority.
In a perfect world, I’d want to see One UI 8 released to all compatible devices at the same time, but I understand that this is pretty unlikely. Samsung’s product portfolio is massive, with phones, folding phones, and tablets to consider, so I’m willing to accept a span of a few weeks between the first and last devices getting the update.
But at the very least, I want to see a compatible device list and roadmap with precise release dates included – after the last update cycle, any vagueness would just seem disrespectful to Samsung’s users, many of whom are fiercely loyal to the brand.
Having used One UI 7 myself, I can vouch for it as a charming and capable Android wrapper, as well as one of the most customizable mobile UIs on the market – that’s to say I like One UI, and want to see it succeed. I hope Samsung takes this chance to prove me right.
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