Here’s how long seamless updates take on the Galaxy S25 series

When Samsung first announced that its Galaxy S25 flagships would use seamless Android updates, most of the team here at Android Authority rejoiced. After all, seamless updates meant that the Galaxy S25 series should be able to jump from one version to the next faster and revert to previous software versions more easily if there was an issue with a new patch. Now, the only real question remaining was how quickly the seamless updates would apply and whether or not they’d be as seamless as Samsung suggested. Well, now we have our answer.

Alright, before I get to updating my Galaxy S25, I should probably explain what seamless updates are. After all, if you’re a longtime Samsung user, you’re probably not especially familiar with the differences, as seamless updates had never been used in One UI until the launch of the Galaxy A55 in 2024. Although Google first introduced seamless updates to Android (and quickly adopted them for Pixel devices) back in 2016, Samsung dragged its heels for a long time, relying on the update method it was comfortable with, which typically took over your phone while you downloaded the new software. Then, it would restart, and you could continue to use your phone.

With seamless updates, however, that download happens in the background, allowing you to continue using your phone. You can keep browsing social media, playing games, and streaming your favorite shows, and then when the update is ready, you’ll get a prompt to restart your phone — easy as can be. From there, the process is the same, and you’ll only have to wait a few seconds while the update finishes before you’re back to the races.

Also, seamless updates introduced a more stable A/B structure to Android, which means that the updates wouldn’t replace the entire build simultaneously. Instead, you’d have two compressed versions of Android on your phone, which would then slowly replace one another. If the update ran into an issue, it could immediately revert to the older version of Android and let you know that the update failed. Inconvenient? Maybe, but it sure beats having to go back and try to recover data from a bad update.

Of course, the original issue with this was that Google’s A/B versions were pretty large, requiring more of your precious storage to guarantee the stability of updates. Now, though, Google has compressed its updates, allowing both software versions to coexist without chewing up too much of your space, which is likely why Samsung finally got on board. So, with that out of the way, let’s talk about updating a Galaxy S25.

The funny thing about seamless updates is that they’re, well, seamless. As such, I didn’t notice that my Galaxy S25 was downloading an update at first — I might have been killing time in Pokemon TCG Pocket or something, but I don’t remember. Eventually, though, I noticed a small download arrow in my Now Bar, which caused me to sit up and pay attention. I hadn’t noticed a similar arrow while reviewing the Galaxy S25 Ultra, so I wasn’t about to let it slip by me on Samsung’s smallest flagship.

Now, I didn’t set a stopwatch to track Samsung’s first significant update down to the second, but I can tell you the entire process was quick. I spent a few minutes watching the download bar tick across my screen — about the same time it took to stream the track More, More, More from Mt. Joy’s upcoming album, I Hope We Have Fun. That song is just over three minutes long, so if we say I missed the first minute or two of the download, I’m willing to call it an even five minutes.

Of course, the part of the update that I was meant to notice happened immediately afterward. The small notification in the Now Bar expanded, letting me know that I could either restart my phone now or schedule it to restart overnight while I wasn’t using it. Because I wanted to see how long the restart took, I jumped right in, and a minute later, I was ready to keep using my Galaxy S25. Yes, it was that quick. In more relatable terms, I think it took about the same amount of time as I would have needed to walk from my desk to my kitchen and refill my water bottle — hardly interrupting my day.

Also, to better understand how seamless Samsung’s updates are, I’ve spent time with all three of the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Ultra. I know they’ve all received updates — Samsung tends to keep its flagships pretty close together with software updates — but I’ve only been quick enough to catch this one. My Galaxy S25 Plus and Ultra updated and restarted overnight, only prompting me for my PIN upon restarting in the morning.

Perhaps the only mixed emotion I have about the Galaxy S25’s seamless updates is that it feels like Samsung held out on us. It could have adopted this structure years ago, like Google, and I would have loved it. But, as they say, better late than never, so I’ll just have to appreciate the smoother updates going forward.