To borrow a phrase, it’s fast becoming “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” It’s now hard to understand Samsung’s plan for the long-awaited stable release of Android 15 / One UI 7 to owners of recent flagships.
As SamMobile puts it, “owners of Galaxy smartphones launched before 2025 endure a torturous wait for the One UI 7 update.” Many weeks ago, that was made worse when cheaper alternatives from other OEMs picked up their Android 15 upgrades ahead of Samsung Galaxy flagships. But now there’s something even worse than that, with cheap Samsungs getting there before even the Galaxy S24 from last year.
Per SammyFans,“last month, Samsung released a new F06 in India, this phone starts at 10,000 INR (around $114). The phone was followed by M06, another budget-friendly smartphone with pre-equipped One UI 7. These phones are new and running a low performance chipset but featuring One UI 7 before the Galaxy S24 series. Yesterday, Samsung released three new devices in the U.S. – A26 5G, Galaxy A36 5G, and A56 5G. These phones start at $299.99, $399.99, and $499.99 respectively. Interestingly, all three of these models bring One UI 7 out of the box.”
It has been a tricky start to 2025 for Samsung, notwithstanding the launch of its excellent, AI-fueled Galaxy S25. Delayed security updates, a secure folder issue that exposed secure photos and videos, and the Android 15 delays. In parallel the mobile threat landscape has never been worse, and with many of now logging into work networks and systems with our own devices, that carries huge risks.
Google has vastly improved Android’s security and privacy with Android 15, and Samsung has gone even further with One UI 7. It’s an exceptional upgrade and it’s understandable that users want it as soon as possible. Alas, not to be. The best guess right now, based on an unconfirmed leak, is mid-April earliest.
SammyFans likely sums up the frustration: “Galaxy S24 series is tagged with a 7-year OS upgrade policy and users have not seen the first major upgrade even after completing the first year with this device. In the meantime, Samsung is packing new budget devices with the One UI 7 while starving a recent flagship phone.”
