Samsung has an update problem. The Galaxy-maker was nearly six months behind Google’s Pixel with its One UI 7 port of Android 15, and critical security fixes for Android’s all too frequent zero-day attacks have often trailed Pixels as well — albeit not this month. In the world of $1500 to $2000 flagships, none of this is good. And now the latest news out of both Samsung and Google could make all that worse — much worse.
Samsung’s One UI 7 delay has been described as a “disaster” for the company. But as it finally rolled out, the PR around a much faster Android 16 and One UI 8 schedule had seemed to signal a recovery. But now another setback. Per specialist SamMobile: Samsung’s “One UI 7 release timeline for multiple devices [is] not good news,” and “what we feared has come true: only flagship devices launched in the last two years will get the update in April. Other devices will get the update in May and June.”
Given that this One UI 8 “insider” reports (via 9to5Google) suggest “Samsung launching One UI 8, based on Android 16, as soon as July with new foldables,” this timeline starts to look a bit spicy to say the least. It now seems safe to assume that Pixel users across the board will be enjoying Android 16 with all its security and privacy updates long before Samsung users on anything but new flagships can do the same. Again.
All this is made worse because within hours of Samsung’s schedule news, Android Police reported that “Google updated a record number of Pixels this week… a whopping 16 phones, tablets, and foldables.” When adding in recent Pixel Watches, “you’ve got a grand total of 19 Pixels that saw updates from Google.” This was just the regular monthly security and feature update, but it shows how seamless Pixel’s process now is.
This is important because in the security and privacy stakes, Apple’s capacity to update everyone, everywhere has set a high bar for others to match. And in reality, only Google with its end-to-end control of Pixel’s hardware and software can come close. As I’ve said before, this is an Achilles’ heel for Android’s fragmented ecosystem and it’s an awkward backdrop with Google controlling Android while competing with other OEMs.
Android 15 was a significant update when it comes to making Android phones safer and more secure, with malware and anti-scam defenses, wired and wireless connectivity protection, and better policing of dangerous third-party installs. We are already seeing some details on Android 16 doing more of the same. If you’re spending $2000 on a new flagship, or if you have one that’s a year or two old, you don’t want an extended wait.
In my view it’s critical that One UI 8 rolls out faster and further than One UI 7, and doesn’t leave it too long between new flagships and the rest. None of this has held back Galaxy sales as yet, and its own Android 15 release is excellent. But Pixel is widening the gap when it comes to updates and upgrades and that’s not good for Samsung or the overall Android proposition. It’s also bad news for Google, raising awkward questions.
Something needs to change.
