Quick Summary
Android 15 is expected to release to Pixel phones imminently, but Samsung device owners will have to wait a fair bit longer.
Samsung has confirmed the first Android 15 beta (One UI 7) will arrive before the end of the year, but the full version won't come until the "next Galaxy".
Google announced its Pixel devices back in August, which was quite a bit earlier than usual and too early to ship with the company's latest OS, Android 15.
Normally, the new Pixel phones arrive in October, which then nicely coincides with Google's next Android release – not too dissimilar from what Apple does with its new iPhones and the iOS update.
The Android 15 update is still expected to arrive this month (October), but the Pixel phones have of course been available for a couple of months, marking the first time they launched without the new software. Android 15 has now been released to AOSP, suggesting it will land on Pixel devices imminently, though Samsung users are going to have to wait a bit longer.
The operating system will be released with a big redesign of Samsung's One UI skin over the top, and while the first beta was expected around August, it was said to be delayed for various issues. The company has now confirmed (spotted by 9to5Google) that its Android 15 update in beta would arrive "before the end of the year".
Sadly, that also means the full Android 15 update won't appear before next year. Indeed, Samsung confirmed in its opening keynote of the Samsung Developer Conference (SDC) 2024 that the update wouldn't arrive until "the next Galaxy".
"The official version of One UI 7 with all of the game-changing AI features will be released next year with the next Galaxy S series," it said.
The next Galaxy is expected to be the Galaxy S25 series, which usually launches in January. It should hopefully be worth the wait though, with Samsung saying the new user interface is designed to be "simple", "impactful" and "emotive".
From reports on the One UI 7 beta software seen by some at the SDC conference, there appear to be changes to some apps including Camera and Gallery.
Other changes, which were reported by Android Authority, include new brightness and volume sliders in the Quick Settings tile section and rounder icons, similar to iOS 18's Control Centre and the stock Android design you'll find on Pixel.
There's no release date for the Samsung Galaxy S25 series as yet, but with a Android 15 beta promised before the end of the year, at least there isn't too long to wait to see what is in store.
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