Samsung is already working on the next big One UI update

Samsung arguably offers the best software support in the Android space today. The pace at which it releases new security and feature updates is unmatched by any other OEM. The One UI 5.1 rollout is a testament to that. The Korean firm brought the latest One UI version to eligible Galaxy devices just over a week after the Galaxy S23 launch. As One UI 5.1 reaches more models around the world, the company has already started working on the next big One UI update.

Twitter user Tarun Vats (@tarunvats33) recently spotted a new One UI test build for Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4. The company is testing the firmware for the South Korean version of its 2022 foldable. The updated firmware build number is F936NKSU1DWB9. For reference, the device currently runs the firmware version F936NKSU1CWB1. While these alphanumeric characters may not look meaningful to most, if you’re familiar with Samsung’s firmware numbers, you can already tell it’s a major One UI update and not just a regular feature or security update.

For the uninitiated, the fourth-to-last character in a firmware number determines whether it’s a major update. Every new Galaxy device ships with a firmware build that has “A” in that place. With each major feature update, that changes to B, C, D, and so on. If you closely look at the above-mentioned firmware numbers for the Galaxy Z Fold 4, the current build has “C” in the fourth-to-last place, while the test build has “D”. So we are looking at a major update here. It could either be a new One UI version (something newer than One UI 5.1) or a major Android update.

Samsung may be developing One UI 5.1.1 for its 2023 foldables

Unfortunately, we can’t tell what Samsung is developing. It usually debuts new foldables with a new One UI version (Galaxy Z Fold 4 debuted with One UI 4.1.1 while other Galaxy devices were on One UI 4.1). It’s possible that the company is working on Android 13-based One UI 5.1.1 or something along that line for the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5, which will arrive in the second half of the year. But we can’t rule out that the Korean firm is developing an early build of Android 14-based One UI 6.0.

Android 14 won’t be official until sometime after the new foldables arrive on the market. But Google will start releasing developer previews and beta builds within the next few months. Maybe we will get clarity on the new firmware build that Samsung is testing on the Galaxy Z Fold 4 around that time. We will keep you posted.