Ryan Whitwam / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Recent rumors suggest that Samsung plans to release One UI 8 based on Android 16 much earlier than usual.
- A new report claims that the company’s next-gen foldables could run the new software release at launch.
Rumor has it that Samsung may compensate for the slow rollout of One UI 7 by releasing One UI 8 based on Android 16 much earlier than usual. Last month, an early One UI 8 build was spotted online, suggesting that the company had already started testing the software release for the Galaxy S25 series. Now, a new report claims that it could offer the new software release on its next-gen foldables at launch.
Samsung is expected to lift the covers off the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 this summer. We’ve already seen a few leaks about the foldable devices, suggesting that Samsung could offer some minor design and performance improvements on both models. The devices could also run One UI 8 based on Android 16 out of the box, according to insider info obtained by Sammobile.
This seems plausible as Google plans to release Android 16 for its Pixel devices sometime this June or July. Since Samsung typically launches its foldables around the same time, it could host its next major Unpacked event shortly after the stable Android 16 rollout and launch the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 with the new software build.
It’s safe to assume that One UI 8 will incorporate all the significant changes that Google introduces with Android 16. Whether or not Samsung packs additional features for its foldable phones remains to be seen.
