{"id":631420,"date":"2026-04-27T07:32:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T07:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/631420\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T07:32:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T07:32:09","slug":"starting-april-30-samsungs-free-android-upgrade-goes-live","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/631420\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Starting April 30\u2019\u2014Samsung\u2019s Free Android Upgrade Goes Live"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" top-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777275129_898_0x0.jpg\" alt=\"Samsung Annual Flagship Galaxy S25 Phone\" data-height=\"2800\" data-width=\"4200\" fetchpriority=\"high\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>One UI 8.5 is finally here. For some.<\/p>\n<p>CFOTO\/Future Publishing via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s finally here \u2014 probably. Samsung\u2019s latest Android upgrade, bringing Galaxy smartphone owners some of the innovations Pixels have enjoyed for some time is \u201cpoised to release\u201d this week. Millions of users will have their fingers crossed.<\/p>\n<p>Samsung\u2019s One UI 8.5 \u201cstrengthens device protection,\u201d <a class=\"color-link\" href=\"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/samsung-launches-one-ui-8-5-beta-next-level-ease-use\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/samsung-launches-one-ui-8-5-beta-next-level-ease-use\" aria-label=\"Samsung\">Samsung<\/a> says, \u201cand gives users clearer control over their security settings.\u201d This includes enhancements to Theft Protection, Failed Authentication Lock, Auto Blocker and Inactivity Restart. <\/p>\n<p><a class=\"embed-base color-body color-body-border link-embed embed-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/zakdoffman\/2026\/04\/26\/google-changes-gmail-new-gemini-attack-warning\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Google Confirms Gmail Upgrade And Warns Of \u2018Sophisticated\u2019 AI Attacks\" data-ga-track=\"forbesEmbedly:https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/zakdoffman\/2026\/04\/26\/google-changes-gmail-new-gemini-attack-warning\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">ForbesGoogle Confirms Gmail Upgrade And Warns Of \u2018Sophisticated\u2019 AI AttacksBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n<p>These are security and privacy innovations already available on this year\u2019s Galaxy S26, but are now coming to last year\u2019s Galaxy S25 and then other models for free, without the need to upgrade your smartphone to an expensive, new device. <\/p>\n<p>Per <a class=\"color-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sammyfans.com\/2026\/04\/26\/stable-one-ui-8-5-releasing-this-week\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/www.sammyfans.com\/2026\/04\/26\/stable-one-ui-8-5-releasing-this-week\/\" aria-label=\"SammyFans\">SammyFans<\/a>, \u201cbased on leaks, the company is poised to release this firmware update to all Galaxy S25 series users starting April 30. The program kicked off in early December and has seen 10 beta releases so far. Making it the most criticised software testing campaign Samsung has ever launched.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As ever, it\u2019s almost certain that deices in Korea will receive the upgrade first, \u201cand expansion will follow in the coming days and weeks for all users.\u201d The date targeted for a global rollout is reportedly May 4. The upgrade will likely bring the latest security fixes as well, ensuring a level playing field.<\/p>\n<p>This upgrade comes at an interesting time. Google\u2019s Pixel has <a class=\"color-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/zakdoffman\/2026\/04\/06\/backlash-googles-unbeatable-pixel-leaves-other-phones-behind\/\" data-ga-track=\"InternalLink:https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/zakdoffman\/2026\/04\/06\/backlash-googles-unbeatable-pixel-leaves-other-phones-behind\/\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"raced ahead\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">raced ahead<\/a> with security innovations and upgrades, receiving the latest Android firmware months ahead of the larger Samsung install base. Pixels have also been quicker to fixes.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"embed-base color-body color-body-border link-embed embed-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/zakdoffman\/2026\/04\/25\/how-to-keep-your-texts-after-samsung-shuts-down-messaging\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"How To Keep Your Texts After Samsung Shuts Down Messaging\" data-ga-track=\"forbesEmbedly:https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/zakdoffman\/2026\/04\/25\/how-to-keep-your-texts-after-samsung-shuts-down-messaging\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">ForbesHow To Keep Your Texts After Samsung Shuts Down MessagingBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n<p>But Google has had problems of its own in 2026, as these updates trigger <a class=\"color-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/zakdoffman\/2026\/03\/23\/googles-android-mistake-do-not-update-your-pixel-until-you-see-this\/\" data-ga-track=\"InternalLink:https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/zakdoffman\/2026\/03\/23\/googles-android-mistake-do-not-update-your-pixel-until-you-see-this\/\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"continual reboots, blackouts\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">continual reboots, blackouts<\/a> and <a class=\"color-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/zakdoffman\/2026\/04\/22\/googles-new-android-update-severe-impact-on-pixel-battery\/\" data-ga-track=\"InternalLink:https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/zakdoffman\/2026\/04\/22\/googles-new-android-update-severe-impact-on-pixel-battery\/\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"severe battery drain\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">severe battery drain<\/a> for multiple Pixel models. And so while Samsung has taken flak for the timing delays, it will recover significant ground with a rock solid upgrade that doesn\u2019t have any of these same teething issues. <\/p>\n<p>Whole the Galaxy S25 is expected to go live within days, older phones will likely remain stuck on the One UI 8.5 beta for some time to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One UI 8.5 is finally here. For some. CFOTO\/Future Publishing via Getty Images It\u2019s finally here \u2014 probably.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":631421,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[49,48,192,70922,848,236359,100597,182585,18366,61],"class_list":{"0":"post-631420","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-google","11":"tag-pixels","12":"tag-samsung","13":"tag-samsung-android","14":"tag-samsung-s25","15":"tag-samsung-s26","16":"tag-samsung-vs-pixel","17":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=631420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/631421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}