Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, Flip 7 Likely To Launch With One UI 8, Based on Android 16

Smartphone giant Samsung may release its One UI 8 user interface earlier than the much delayed One UI 7 (Android 15), according to a new report. The delay over the release of One UI 7 has caused a lot of frustration among Samsung fans over the company’s handling of the updates.

According to a report by the Sammobile website, Samsung plans to release One UI 8 earlier than One UI 7. Some speculations suggest that the South Korean smartphone maker may introduce its new foldable flagship phones with One UI 8. The report said these phones, likely to launch in the second half of the year, may be based on Android 16, preloaded.

The report cited Samsung insiders to claim that the new Samsung series Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 will come with Android 16 and One UI 8.0 out of the box. This could mean that the tech major will introduce One UI 8 update for older devices, like the Galaxy S25, before the One UI 7.

A similar report in March claimed that Samsung was testing One UI 8 on the flagship Galaxy S25 series. According to tipster @tarunvats33 on X (formerly Twitter), One UI 8's internal test build was spotted on Samsung's server, listed as a “newfound test firmware”.

Android 16 is the next big operating system update for Android devices, which will bring significant new features and improvements. It will be launched by Google around June or July, as first indicated by an official during the 2025 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. This means that the launch of Galaxy Z Flip 7 and the Galaxy Z Fold 7 could follow in the subsequent weeks.

When a new version of Android is released by Google, manufacturers like Samsung take that base OS and customise it for their devices. Samsung's One UI 8 is expected to incorporate most of the major changes and improvements introduced by Google in Android 16.