If you’re a Samsung fan and have been looking forward to the company’s long-awaited One UI 7 update, you’ve probably heard the bad news by now. On Monday, Samsung unexpectedly halted its One UI 7 rollout — just days after it finally started being released to the general public.
On its own, this would be annoying enough. One UI 7 is one of Samsung’s most significant updates in years, offering a truckload of new features and visual refreshes. To have Samsung release an update this big just to delay it less than a week later isn’t a good look.
But if you’ve been following One UI 7’s disastrous rollout from the beginning, you’ll know this is just the latest in a series of endless blunders. One UI 7 has quickly become one of the messiest Android updates I can remember — and one of the most embarrassing Android stories of the entire year.
What do you think about the One UI 7 delays?
1245 votes
Samsung’s embarrassing One UI 7 rollout
But that’s not at all what happened with One UI 7.
The rest of October and all of November went by without any indication from Samsung as to what was going on with One UI 7. We saw repeated leaks teasing new features in the update but had no explanation from Samsung about where in the world it was.
It looked like Samsung was headed in the right direction.
Finally, on December 5, Samsung opened its One UI 7 beta for Galaxy S24 devices. While severely behind schedule, we were at least making some progress. That initial beta release was followed by another beta update later in December and another in January. Then, on January 22, One UI 7 was released in full when it came pre-installed on the Galaxy S25 series.
It looked like Samsung was headed in the right direction, and a final One UI 7 release for the Galaxy S24 series and other Samsung devices was right around the corner. But that’s when things started going haywire again.
Nothing happened during those last couple of weeks in January. Then February came and went without any sign of One UI 7. At this point, we were four months on from Android 15’s release with no communication from Samsung about when One UI 7 would be ready for phones/tablets other than the S25 lineup.
Hadlee Simons /
It wasn’t until March 5 that Samsung confirmed One UI 7 would begin rolling out to other devices “starting in April,” with the release date later confirmed to be April 10 for Samsung phones in the U.S. — a full six months after Google Pixel phones got their Android 15 update.
April 10 rolled around, and it looked like our nightmare was over. True to Samsung’s word, the Galaxy S24 series, Galaxy Z Fold 6, and Galaxy Z Flip 6 were finally getting One UI 7. But, as we know now, it wouldn’t last for long. On April 14, the rollout was paused due to unforeseen bugs.
Samsung initially stated that “The One UI 7 rollout schedule is being updated to ensure the best possible experience. The new timing and availability will be shared shortly.” It then doubled down on that a day later, saying the company had already completed necessary maintenance on One UI 7 and would “resume updates soon.”
While reassuring that this latest delay isn’t long-lasting, the fact that it happened in the first place after months of an already late rollout is just icing on an already terrible, terrible cake.
More than just a delayed update
Stephen Schenck /
On its own, it’s easy (and justified) to be upset about Samsung’s handling of One UI 7. No company is immune to unexpected bugs or other software development challenges, but that shouldn’t result in the extent of back-and-forth delays we’ve seen from Samsung — especially not for a company of its size and pedigree.
Further, beyond it taking longer than it should for people to get their hands on One UI 7, this creates a worrying snowball effect for what happens next.
This creates a worrying snowball effect for what happens next.
Ironically, on the same day as Samsung halted its One UI 7 rollout, leaked screenshots gave us our first look at One UI 8. While it’s usually exciting to see what a company’s next big Android update looks like, talking about One UI 8 at this point feels like putting ten carts before the horse. If Samsung is still struggling to release One UI 7 to last year’s flagship phones — and hasn’t even started rolling it out to older devices — that almost certainly means One UI 8 will be impacted as a result of all this.
Lanh Nguyen /
Not only does this potentially create a cycle of update delay after update delay, but it also tarnishes a lot of goodwill Samsung has created around its Android updates over the last few years. Promising seven years of updates for flagships and mid-range smartphones is undoubtedly impressive, but how much does that matter when those updates are six months behind the competition?
We may never know how or why Samsung got itself into this One UI 7 mess, but the lasting damage it will have on the company is undeniable. Personally, it’ll make it hard for me to trust Samsung’s software plans going forward, and I imagine many other people will feel the same way, too. I also wouldn’t be shocked if this whole debacle has some folks questioning whether or not they should buy a Samsung phone any time soon.
It matters how a company rolls out Android updates and communicates their release to its users.
While I’m certainly happy that this latest delay was resolved sooner than anticipated, it’s not enough to repair the last six months Samsung has put its users through. Android updates may not be the end-all-be-all that they once were, but it still matters how a company rolls them out and communicates their release to its users. Samsung botched every aspect of that with One UI 7.
I hope the company learns from its mistakes and ensures something like this never happens again, but considering how the last few months have played out, I’ll believe it when I see it.
