Samsung's Android 17-Based One UI 9 Starts Rolling Out to Galaxy S26 Phones, But It's Not for Everyone Yet
Samsung said One UI 9 focuses on expanding personalisation options, improving accessibility, adding new creative tools, and strengthening security features across Galaxy devices.
Samsung has announced the rollout of its One UI 9 beta programme based on Android 17, with the update set to debut first on the Galaxy S26 series later this week.
The company said One UI 9 focuses on expanding personalisation options, improving accessibility, adding new creative tools, and strengthening security features across Galaxy devices. The update is built on top of Google’s recently introduced Android 17 platform.
While Samsung has not yet shared a complete changelog, reports suggest the company has already been internally testing early One UI 9 beta builds for the Galaxy S26 lineup over the past few weeks. Firmware versions linked to Android 17-based One UI 9 were recently spotted on Samsung’s servers, indicating that development has been underway even before the wider rollout of One UI 8.5 concluded.
The beta roll-out also highlights how aggressively Samsung is now moving with Android updates. In recent years, the company has significantly shortened the gap between Google’s Android releases and its own One UI deployments. Android 17 Beta 4, which Google describes as the final scheduled beta before stable release, was rolled out last month with platform stability and finalised APIs.
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Samsung has not confirmed which older Galaxy devices will receive the One UI 9 beta after the Galaxy S26 series, although reports suggest the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S24 lineups are likely candidates in later phases.
The rollout also comes shortly after Samsung started expanding its stable One UI 8.5 update to older Galaxy devices globally. That update introduced several Galaxy AI enhancements, Quick Share improvements, battery optimisations, and interface refinements.
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Samsung has not announced a timeline for the stable release of One UI 9 yet. Which, in classic software-update tradition, means users will now spend the next few months manually checking Settings > Software Update every six hours as if collective impatience somehow accelerates firmware deployment. The beta update will first be available in India, Germany, South Korea, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.