Samsung begins Android 16 based One UI 8 rollout: Eligible devices, features, how to download and more

Samsung has officially begun the rollout of its Android 16-based One UI 8 skin to Galaxy S25 series users. While the Korean tech giant has been rolling out various beta versions of its latest software, the stable software was currently running only on a select few devices including the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Galaxy Z Flip 7, Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE and the recently launched Galaxy S25 FE.

The first update for the Galaxy S25 series has begun rolling out. As per tipster Tarun Vats, the very first One UI 8 update for the Galaxy S25 series has a version number S938NKSU5BYI3/S938NOKR5BYI3/S938NKSU5BYI3 and has a size of 3.8 GB. The update has first begun rolling out to users in South Korea, but it could soon be available to all Galaxy S25 users globally, including in India.

As per Sammobile, the One UI 8 update was initially only available to users who participated in the One UI 8 Beta programme but should be available to download for all One UI 7-based users later in the day.

When will older Galaxy devices get the One UI 8 update?

Samsung has also promised that it will begin rolling out the One UI 8 update to older Galaxy devices like the Galaxy S24, Galaxy Z Fold6, Galaxy Z Flip6, Galaxy S24 FE and others ‘later in the year’. Meanwhile, One UI 8 Watch is also set to expand beyond the Galaxy Watch 8 series, but we don’t have a fixed timeline for that yet.

Notably, the company had faced a lot of criticism earlier in the year after it had paused the initial rollout of the One UI 7 update to older Galaxy devices due to a bug that locked users out of their devices. The lack of clear communication from the company and the numerous delays for the One UI 7 update had caused quite an embarrassing situation for the Korean tech giant.

How to download the One UI 8 update?

Once the One UI 8 update is available for your device, you should get a notification to download and install the latest update. If you are eager to try out the new update, you can also go to Settings then Software Update. If the update is out for your device, you should get the “Download and Install” option.

Your Galaxy device will restart to install the latest update.

It is usually recommended to back up your device to the cloud or a physical storage device before updating to the new version in order to ensure that your data remains safe even if something goes wrong with the update.

Top features of One UI 8:

OneUI 8 takes the help of Google Gemini to bring a context-aware AI and reduce the need of switching apps by performing tasks automatically based on the users’s activity. It also learns from your daily habits to give suggestions, reminders, or shortcuts that match your routine.

Samsung is also making the AI features first seen on the Galaxy like Generative Edits and Chat Assist will now be available to older Samsung devices as well.

Meanwhile, the Now Bar and Now Brief now come with support for live notifications from a wider range of apps.

The new update also brings a new split screen which is similar to Open Canvas seen on OnePlus devices. While the traditional split screen only allow 50:50 split of the display, the new mode allows users to drag one app to the edge of the screen, taking it largely out of sight and freeing up for real estate for the primary app to focus on.