Samsung Expands One UI 9 Free Upgrade To Millions More Galaxy Phones Ahead Of Stable Release

Samsung has significantly expanded access to its One UI 9 software update, adding beta programs for several older Galaxy devices while pushing toward a stable release for the Galaxy S26 series, bringing millions more phones closer to receiving the software's newest features.

The rollout builds on One UI 9's official launch alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 8 series on July 22, with Samsung now moving to extend both beta and stable versions of the software across a broader range of devices in the weeks since.

For current Galaxy S26 owners, Samsung has confirmed that One UI 9 Beta 7 is now rolling out globally, available for download through the Samsung Members app for users enrolled in the One UI Beta Program. The update brings several features that debuted exclusively on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 to the S26 lineup, including a redesigned Finder tool with Google Search integration, a feature called My FanCam that lets users film a wide crowd shot and later spotlight a specific person within the Gallery app, and custom cards within Now Nudge, a proactive suggestion feature that anticipates a user's next likely action, such as offering to open a calendar app when a user is texting about scheduling a meetup.

Both My FanCam and Now Nudge, which originally launched exclusively alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 8 in July, are now also available on Samsung's new midrange Galaxy S26 FE, extending features once reserved for the company's premium foldable lineup down to a more budget-friendly device.

Beyond the Galaxy S26 series, Samsung has significantly widened its beta testing program to include several older Galaxy devices. The company officially confirmed an expanded One UI 9 beta rollout covering the Galaxy S25, S25+, S25 Ultra and S25 FE, along with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7, with availability confirmed in India, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The Galaxy S25 beta program launched earlier, with Samsung officially rolling out the first beta build, sized just under 4 gigabytes, to users in the U.S., U.K., South Korea and India. Notably, Samsung included the Galaxy S25 FE in the South Korean rollout for that beta, marking the first time a midrange Galaxy device had been included in the One UI 9 beta program at that stage of the rollout.

Samsung update tracker Tarun Vats, who closely monitors the company's software rollout schedule, has separately identified additional beta builds in development for the Galaxy S24, S23 and Z Fold 7 device families, suggesting those devices are moving closer to receiving their own formal beta programs even though some, like the Galaxy S24, were not included in Samsung's initial official device list for the expanded beta. According to Vats, the Galaxy S24 series beta could go live soon in the U.S. and India specifically, despite not appearing on Samsung's confirmed rollout list, reflecting the rapid pace at which the update appears to be expanding to additional devices beyond the company's initially announced schedule.

For the Galaxy Z Fold 7 specifically, Samsung has now released both a stable build, internally labeled CZHI, and a newer beta build, labeled ZZHL, a combination that suggests a full stable release of One UI 9 for last year's flagship foldable device could be approaching relatively soon.

Signs also point toward an imminent stable release for the current Galaxy S26 series. Samsung has now released two separate stable builds for the S26 in quick succession, with a build carrying a September date, internally labeled BZI2, spotted following an earlier stable build labeled BZHK that appeared the previous week. Industry trackers have interpreted the pattern of multiple stable builds appearing close together as a strong signal that Samsung is in the final stages of preparing the software for full public release, rather than continuing to test additional beta iterations.

The Galaxy S24 has similarly received a new stable build, labeled EZHO, though industry trackers following the rollout do not currently expect Samsung to offer a public beta program for that device, suggesting Samsung may skip directly to a stable release for the S24 family without an intermediate beta testing phase.

For users interested in joining any of the currently available beta programs, Samsung has outlined a straightforward process: open the Samsung Members app, locate the One UI 9 Beta Programme banner, register for the program, and then navigate to Settings, followed by Software Update, and select Download and Install to receive the update.

Separately, Samsung's rollout of One UI 9 has drawn attention to a notable feature limitation on its newest midrange device, the Galaxy S26 FE. While the phone launches with One UI 9 and Android 17 preinstalled, along with features including My FanCam, a Horizontal Lock function for stabilized video recording, and Document Scan, Samsung has confirmed the device will not support the full agentic capabilities of Google's Gemini Intelligence, the AI assistant feature capable of autonomously completing tasks such as booking restaurant reservations or locating documents across different apps on a user's behalf.

The limitation appears tied to hardware constraints rather than a deliberate software restriction. Google's official requirements for Gemini Intelligence specify a minimum of 12 gigabytes of RAM, while the Galaxy S26 FE launches with only 8 gigabytes, a 4-gigabyte gap that appears to represent the dividing line between Samsung's full AI flagship experience and the more limited feature set available on its lower-tier devices.

It remains unclear whether Samsung's full agentic Gemini Intelligence experience will eventually be made available on older Galaxy flagship devices that do meet the 12-gigabyte RAM requirement, or whether the feature will remain exclusive to newer hardware going forward. Samsung and Google have not provided a definitive answer to that question, though the continued rollout of One UI 9 to older Galaxy devices in the coming months is expected to offer clearer insight into how broadly the company plans to extend its full AI feature set across its existing device lineup before the end of the year.