We recently reported that Samsung was working hard this year to have a much smoother and earlier rollout of their One UI 5 compared to last year’s launch of the One UI 4 which was plagued by numerous challenges including unforeseen bugs.
For the uninitiated, One UI is a software overlay developed by Samsung for its Android devices that started with Android 9 (Pie). Samsung is currently at the fourth iteration of One UI, which is based on Android 12. Subsequently, One UI 5 will be developed using Android 13 as a base, and its beta is coming in July according to Sammobile.
The online publication reports that the Galaxy S22 series will be the first model to receive the One UI 5 beta builds. They then expect other models including the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 to get the update to One UI 5 in the following weeks.
The Galaxy S22 series and the third generation foldables being the first in getting the update to Android 13 among Samsung’s wide range of devices at different price points comes as no surprise as they are the company’s most premium smartphones.
In terms of the actual timeline for the release, Samsung is reportedly primed for the update to go live in the third week of July. This is only for the Galaxy S22 series.
Once the beta period passes, insider information from the same publication puts the public release for the One UI 5 Android 13 update in October of this year. Just as is the case with the One UI 5 beta, the Galaxy S22 series will be the first to get it, followed by the gradual rollout to the other Galaxy devices that are eligible for the update to Android 13.
Trying to figure out which devices get the update to the newer OS is always a complicated matter. But generally, middle-range and high-end devices typically get software support for longer periods, while entry-level devices might get security updates with no OS upgrades.
For last year’s One UI 4 update, the public release was made in November and by the end of December 2021, the Android 12 update had already been rolled out to the foldables, the Galaxy S10 series and the Galaxy Tab S7 series, which are all in the premium or very close to premium territory
This is not to say that only premium smartphones get the update, as the Samsung Galaxy A13 and the Galaxy A23 which are entry-level budget devices are also expected to get the update to Android 13.
Should Samsung stick to its timeline, the early update to Android 13 would put it among the first OEMs other than Google to bring the new Android version to the public. This is a great improvement from a company that not long ago had a bad reputation for taking its sweet time before rolling out updates.
