Samsung's next software upgrade keeps customisation at its core

We’ve been seeing little bits and pieces about the forthcoming Samsung One UI 7 update for some months and a particularly hot potato has been the suggestion that the Quick Settings and Notifications panes on Samsung phones would be separated, like you might find on the iPhone. There’s some good news however, thanks to a recent leak.

This topic has struck a chord with Samsung fans, because many will have always found the combined Quick Settings and Notifications simple to use and very efficient. “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” is the mantra and in smartphone worlds, it’s also worth applying “if it ain’t broke don’t just copy the iPhone”.

Android’s approach to swiping down from the top of the screen works perfectly well and while Android 15 keeps Quick Settings and Notifications together, a number of brands have made the separation. It’s particularly symptomatic of some Chinese brands, where looking to Apple seems to be an inspiration and those UIs share a lot with iOS – and not always for the better.

An early hands-on video (via 9to5Google) has revealed that there’s going to be the option, so if you want to maintain the status quo with your swiping – which I’d say is the better option – then you can. But it appears you will be able to switch to the split approach too.

When will my Samsung phone get updated?

Samsung has made the move to offering 7 years of software support for recent devices and moved from being one of the worst performers to one of the best in terms of updates over the past few years. Speedy updates is one the performance measures for Android phones these days, but the question of when your Samsung phone will get updated remains.

It’s expected that the Samsung Galaxy S24 models will be the first in line to get update, but whether you’ll get any update will depend on the age of your phone. The older the phone, the later it’s likely to be in the cycle, with more recent phones getting the update sooner.

Phones back to the Galaxy S21 should get One UI 7, as old as the Galaxy Z Flip 3 as well as tablets back to the Tab S8.

Samsung has previously suggested that it would be releasing One UI 7 in beta before the end of 2024, but with the roll-out to One UI 7 happening in 2025 in earnest. It’s worth noting that the Samsung Galaxy S25 series is expected to launch early in the new year and is likely to launch with the new software, and new features.