Samsung confirms the Galaxy S25 will get One UI 8 in September – though Galaxy Watch owners have a longer wait

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Samsung One UI 8
Samsung One UI 8 comes with more AI upgrades, of course (Image credit: Samsung)
  • Samsung has confirmed more One UI 8 schedule details
  • The Galaxy S25 phones will get a full update in September
  • One UI 8 Watch will hit older watches later in the year

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 launched with One UI 8 (based on Android 16) preinstalled, and the rollout for older phones isn't far off: Samsung has confirmed the Galaxy S25 series is going to get the software update in September.

Samsung confirmed the news in a press release, which also announced the ongoing One UI 8 beta program will expand to the Galaxy S24, Galaxy Z Fold 6, and Galaxy Z Flip 6 next week, before reaching more devices next month.

The testing phase for One UI 8 started back in May – and not long after the official introduction of One UI 7 in fact. Samsung is clearly keen to catch up to Google's Android launch schedule, which has been shifted further forward this year.

Among the features the software update brings with it are upgrades to Bluetooth audio (enabling multiple, simultaneous connections), improved sharing options, more capabilities for the Now Bar, and upgrades to on-device security.

Watch this space

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 on a desk

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 comes with One UI 8 Watch (Image credit: Samsung)

One UI 8 is going to be accompanied at some point by the One UI 8 Watch update for the best Samsung watches, but it looks as though the wait for that will be a little longer – it's going to arrive "later in the year" Samsung says.

You can already get One UI 8 Watch on your wrist, but only on a select number of models: the brand new Galaxy Watch 8 or Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, the refreshed Galaxy Watch Ultra for 2025, or the original Galaxy Watch Ultra launched in 2024.

As is the case with the phones and their software update, there is a beta available for watches too – but at the time of writing it's only available for the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 series and only if you're in the US or Samsung's home country of South Korea.

One UI 8 Watch brings with it a selection of useful upgrades, including new tools for monitoring sleep and improving your runs, and antioxidant measurements. More improvements, including Gemini AI, could be on the way too.

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David Nield
David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.

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