Samsung has officially kicked off the One UI 9 beta program, and the Galaxy S26 series is getting first access. The Android 17-based update is now open for testing in a limited set of markets, giving users an early look at what Samsung has been building ahead of the stable rollout later this year.
Galaxy S26 owners in the US, UK, South Korea, India, Germany, and Poland can sign up through the Samsung Members app starting this week. It’s a familiar pattern for Samsung, launching the beta with its newest flagship series before expanding access further. More devices will likely join in the coming weeks, though Samsung hasn’t confirmed anything on that front yet.
One UI 9 comes with a mix of creative, customization, and AI improvements. One of the more practical changes is to the Quick Panel: users can now control brightness, sound, and media player settings independently, which gives more flexibility over layout than before. On the security side, the update introduces better detection of high-risk apps and can recommend removal of suspicious ones through security policy updates.
Samsung has already confirmed that a wide range of Galaxy devices across its lineup will eventually be eligible for the One UI 9 update. The beta launch right now is really about giving the company time to catch and fix bugs before things go wider. Given that Samsung began One UI 9 development shortly after Google announced Android 17 earlier this year, the pace has been fairly quick.
The stable release isn’t expected until the second half of 2026. Samsung’s upcoming foldable phones will almost certainly debut One UI 9 first, bringing along the full suite of new Galaxy AI features. Once those are out, the rollout to older devices should follow fairly quickly. Another Samsung device has already entered One UI 9 testing, which suggests Samsung is already thinking beyond just the S26 series.
For those on the Galaxy S25 series, the One UI 8.5 rollout is still underway, so there’s a natural progression here. Samsung is clearly trying to wrap up 8.5 before shifting its full attention to getting One UI 9 ready for a broader audience.
We’ll keep you updated as the beta progresses and Samsung shares more details on the full rollout plan.
source: Samsung Newsroom
