Samsung is making some bold changes to how it rolls out major One UI updates. Spoiler: the changes are beneficial for Galaxy users. Thanks to the latest move, the brand was able to make a quick turnaround with the One UI 8 release after a much-delayed One UI 7 release, and it appears things are only going to get better with upcoming One UI releases.
Samsung has made two major changes that impact the development of One UI, as well as its rollout. The brand is adopting Google’s Trunk Stable model for faster development, and secondly, it won’t be releasing new One UI versions with the latest Galaxy S-series models, but the Galaxy foldables will receive the first bite going forward. Let’s talk about them in detail.
Samsung is adopting Google’s faster development model
Google used to rely on a branch-based model for Android development. This approach needed each major Android version to be built in a separate branch and then merged into the main codebase when complete. While it worked well, it was not without problems. Merging large chinks of new code used to cause bugs and delays.
For Android 16, Google moved to a Trunk Stable model. It doesn’t require separate benches, but all development happens in a single, always-stable codebase. New features are hidden behind “feature flags,” and only appear in public builds once they’re fully ready.
The switch to the Trunk Stable model helped Google release Android 16 almost a quarter earlier than the usual release timeline. Samsung has also utilized Google’s Trunk Stable method for One UI 8 development, which is why it was able to achieve a major turnaround with a much faster release of One UI 8.
According to Samsung’s Sally Hyesoon Jeong — Executive VP and Head of Framework R&D at the Mobile eXperience division — Samsung’s long-term goal is to match Google’s pace for rolling out new Android versions with One UI at the top. This means we could see future One UI updates, such as One UI 8.5 and One UI 9, arriving much sooner than we are used to. This move by Samsung brings another significant change to who gets the first bite (more details below).
Related:
1. Every Samsung device that is eligible for One UI 8 upgrade
2. One UI 8 will be the last big upgrade for these Samsung devices
Samsung foldables will now launch with major One UI versions
So far, the latest Galaxy S-series have been getting the first bite of major One UI releases early in the year, while the newest foldables have debuted later in the year with a slightly updated One UI x.1.1 version. Well, that seems to be changing soon as Samsung is reportedly making changes to One UI releases.
According to a well-known tipster @UniverseIce, Samsung will debut major Android and One UI versions in the middle of the year alongside the newest foldable phones. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S-series phones launching early in the year will ship with an incremental software, likely One UI x.5.
Samsung hasn’t confirmed this just yet, but it seems fairly accurate. That’s because the brand usually launches new foldables around the same time Google releases a new version of Android. Since the brand is aiming to sync major software releases with Google, it’ll likely release the newest foldables with the latest OS and an incremental update a few months later for the Galaxy S series. This should also mean a faster-than-usual One UI rollout for older Galaxy devices.
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