Your older Samsung Galaxy phone just got a killer free upgrade – here's how to get it
If you've been waiting to sample One UI 8, now is your chance


Quick summary
Samsung is rolling out the One UI 8 beta to older devices, including the Galaxy S24.
Via the Samsung Members app you can sign up for the beta to try it yourself.
Samsung is in the process of preparing the next iteration of its software, powered by Android 16, but bringing with it a heap of new features in One UI 8. So far, the only devices to officially run One UI 8 are the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7, while Samsung's older phones are now in line for an update.
At the moment, we're still in the beta stages of One UI 8, with the Galaxy S25 models already having access to it. But now, Samsung has pushed the button and a whole range of older devices can now access the beta too.
The devices in line for an update include:
- Galaxy S24 Ultra
- Galaxy S25 Plus
- Galaxy S25
- Galaxy Z Fold 6
- Galaxy Z Flip 6
If you have one of these devices and you're in the UK, the US, Korea or India, you can now access the Samsung One UI 8 beta yourself and see what's coming to your phone.
These will be followed by Galaxy S23, Z Fold 5, Z Flip 5, A36, A56, A35 and A54 in September.
For those who don't recall, Samsung's updates have been up the spout over the past 12 months. Samsung took a long time to push the update to Android 15 with One UI 7 and with Google pulling forward the release of Android 16 a couple of months, it has led to the situation where some Samsung owners were still waiting for Android 15, while Pixel owners were already enjoying Android 16.
The result is that One UI 7 (based on Android 15) could have a short life span, with One UI 8 already starting to appear.
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How to get Samsung One UI 8 on your phone
If you want to test out the One UI 8 beta for yourself – and you have one of the phones mentioned above – then you can access it through the Samsung Members app on your phone.
This is one of the apps that looks like bloatware, but happens to be the gateway to these beta releases. Once you open the app, there should be a banner in the "Discover" tab of the Samsung Members app.
I found this at the bottom of the list, but once you tap on it, you'll be able to sign-up to the beta. It will also tell you if the beta is close, for example, if there are already too many people in the beta, or if you are too late to join in.
That's all there is to it, but remember, beta software isn't final and testing it might affect the performance and features of your phone.
Chris has been writing about consumer tech for over 15 years. Formerly the Editor-in-Chief of Pocket-lint, he's covered just about every product launched, witnessed the birth of Android, the evolution of 5G, and the drive towards electric cars. You name it and Chris has written about it, driven it or reviewed it. Now working as a freelance technology expert, Chris' experience sees him covering all aspects of smartphones, smart homes and anything else connected. Chris has been published in titles as diverse as Computer Active and Autocar, and regularly appears on BBC News, BBC Radio, Sky, Monocle and Times Radio. He was once even on The Apprentice... but we don't talk about that.
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