Samsung Galaxy S26 owners can now download One UI 9 – the latest iteration of Android. It's built on top of Android 17, the next generation of the mobile operating system, which is set to roll out worldwide later this summer.
Google has teased several new features coming to Android 17, including a more proactive Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool, dubbed Gemini Intelligence, that can book restaurant tables and plane tickets for you. However, whispers of a top-to-bottom redesign inspired by Apple's Liquid Glass aesthetic have been quashed by Google executives.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 series is designed with softer, more rounded corners that should make it more comfortable to hold these devices for extended periods | SAMSUNG PRESS OFFICEIf you want to download the beta versions of One UI 9 to test upcoming features, you'll need one of the following:
- Galaxy S26
- Galaxy S26+
- Galaxy S26 Ultra
These will appear for eligible devices like any other Android software update, so you'll just need to head to Settings > Software Update and then tap Download and Install.
This will unlock the latest features weeks before they're available to everyone else — although you might have to put up with a few bugs and glitches.
When it comes to One UI 9, Samsung has added a slew of new tools to its Samsung Notes app, including decorative tapes and a wider variety of pen line styles. Meanwhile, the Contacts app now offers direct access to Creative Studio to create personalised profile cards without switching between apps.
Swiping from the top of the screen summons the Quick Panel, which offers speedy access to some of the most common controls and features. With One UI 9, these can be reordered and resized
|SAMSUNG PRESS OFFICE
The Quick Panel — the customisable menu accessed by swiping down from the top of the screen on Galaxy devices – has been refreshed to give smartphone owners more control over the layout.
Controls to manage screen brightness, sound levels, and the built-in media player are now independently adjustable – with more size options to suit individual preferences. This is similar to the granular customisation added by Apple in iOS 18 in 2024.
Ahead of the launch of One UI 9, Google has worked with Meta — the parent company behind Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp — to bolster image and video quality shot within social media apps on Android devices. As a result of this collaboration, the entire pipeline from image capture to upload has been reworked on Android, ensuring photos and videos are uploaded in the highest possible quality.
This is something that has long been standard on iPhone, explaining the prevalence of iOS devices for social media managers and other professions.
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Photos and videos captured within Instagram and WhatsApp are shot in Ultra HDR, also known as Super HDR on Samsung-branded devices. This format offers a wider dynamic range and deeper colours.
Furthermore, video stabilisation has been improved, so there's no need to capture content using the default Camera app on your Galaxy device and then upload separately in the Meta-owned app of your choice for the best quality.
One UI 9 also introduces enhanced protection against suspicious apps and potential threats. When new high-risk apps are detected, the mobile operating system will automatically warn Galaxy owners and block any execution or installation.
It can also recommend that you delete specific software that could cause a security headache.
Accessibility is significantly improved by an adjustable Mouse Key speed, which enables smoother cursor control and a combined TalkBack package that brings together features previously offered separately by Google and Samsung. The new Text Spotlight feature — which displays selected text larger or more clearly in a floating window — has also been added to make reading easier.
If Samsung follows a similar release schedule to previous versions of its One UI software, we'd expect to see the South Korean firm open the One UI 9.0 beta to many more devices in the next few weeks or months.