The new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 goes on sale on July 25. Out of the box, it will run Android 16, and it will be the first new phone to do so. Here’s why that matters.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7
The nature of Android software is that after Google releases it, each smartphone manufacturer has to optimize it for their hardware. This means that the Pixel phones, made by Google, are always the first. Others take weeks or more likely months to catch up.
That’s not going to be the case with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7. Samsung was previously a little slow with its releases. One UI 7, based on Android 15, only arrived on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra in January this year, though it had been available for months on the Google Pixel, for instance. Samsung is still rolling out One UI 7 to some of its phones even now. However, the move to One UI 8, which is based on Android 16, has already begun.
The Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 will both have One UI 8 pre-installed, making it the first new hardware to launch with Android 16.
The latest Android software will bring new features as well as the latest security updates and bug fixes from Google, so it’s great to have them on your phone as soon as possible.
But integrating vanilla Android with a comprehensive overlay, like the one Samsung provides, takes time. So, the swift arrival of One UI 8 is also a striking change.
Samsung has also said that there will be multiple data security and privacy enhancements as part of One UI 8, with the introduction of Knox Enhanced Encrypted Protection (KEEP), which will add further security.
Samsung is taking this speedy release seriously: it’s also coming to the latest Samsung Galaxy watches, which will also boast a version of One UI 8 out of the box. Samsung says it’s the very first smartwatch to offer a feature called Ask Google Gemini, which allows you to talk to the watch and interact with Gemini in a natural and conversational manner.
This post was created with our nice and easy submission form. Create your post!
