Samsung’s game of catch-up with Pixel continues, as speculation builds that One UI 8’s general release is getting closer — albeit July seems a stretch. The Galaxy interpretation of Android 16 includes major privacy and security enhancements for eligible phones.
Meanwhile, the company has just issued a critical security update for Galaxy users in its July monthly release. This is a stark contract to Google, whose Android and Pixel July security bulletins (1,2) will surprise the millions of users now at risk.
Samsung has patched one critical and 21 high-severity vulnerabilities, which it attributes to Android’s July security package. It has also patched 17 vulnerabilities of its own, and high-severity exposures affecting its chipsets.
Google has drawn a surprising blank for July. The Android security bulletin says “there are no Android security patches in the July 2025 Android Security Bulletin,” while Pixel users are also told “there are no Pixel security patches in the July 2025 Pixel Update Bulletin,” given that the latest Android 16 update carries a July security flag.
No sign yet of the Qualcomm fixes from last month which triggered a U.S. government update mandate for federal staff, with a deadline that was impossible to hit. Similarly, the empty Android monthly update highlights the current disparity between Pixel and Samsung, with one racing ahead with Android 16 and the other falling further behind.
At the beginning of each month, Samsung’s more complex update process versus Pixel in particular is always highlighted. This includes the lack of seamless updates for all but the latest flagships and the multiple weeks it takes to reach all device models, regions and carriers. This in addition to the delays in OS upgrades is becoming more serious.
All Galaxy owners are urged to update their phones as soon as the latest release is available to them. There are plenty of patches to address, despite what Google’s notification to the wider Android community might suggest.
The other focus at the moment is on Android phones that can’t move beyond Android 12, given that Google no longer provides updates for those phones and its latest Play Integrity API also means some apps will cease to function properly. If your Galaxy can’t run Android 13 or newer, it’s time to consider an upgrade.
