Samsung was supposed to be moving on from One UI 9 beta testing by now. The company officially kicked off the stable Android 17-based update for the Galaxy S26 series on September 16, but nearly a week later, the wider rollout remains a bit of a moving target.
Samsung’s own announcements haven’t exactly helped clear things up either. The company initially said the stable rollout would begin on September 16 with the Galaxy S26, S26 Plus and S26 Ultra, and the update did indeed start appearing in South Korea that day. Other markets, however, have been following different schedules. Things became even more interesting when Samsung Thailand published what looked like a much more detailed rollout schedule. The announcement originally pointed to September 21 for the Galaxy S26 series and September 28 for the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy Z7 families, with more devices following in October.
Those exact dates have since disappeared. Samsung quietly edited the Thailand announcement and now only says the Galaxy S26, S25 and Z7 series will receive One UI 9 sometime within September. The Galaxy S23 FE is now simply promised the update before the end of 2026.
So, while stable One UI 9 is technically here, plenty of Galaxy owners are still waiting. And while that wait continues, something unusual has been happening behind the scenes: Samsung has opened its One UI beta program to far more devices than we’re used to seeing.
One UI 9 Beta has grown into Samsung’s biggest testing program yet
Samsung started the One UI 9 beta in May with the Galaxy S26 series. For months, those three phones did most of the testing as Samsung worked through multiple beta builds. The floodgates finally opened in September.
Samsung initially announced that the Galaxy S25, S25 Plus, S25 Ultra, S25 FE, Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 would join the program. The company said the expansion would cover select markets including India, South Korea, the UK and the US. But it didn’t stop there.
Older flagship phones followed almost immediately. The Galaxy S24 family joined, followed by the Galaxy S23 series, Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6. Samsung then started moving down its A-series lineup at a pace we’ve rarely seen during a One UI beta cycle.
As of September 22, here are the Galaxy phones that have received public One UI 9 beta builds.
Galaxy S series
- Galaxy S26
- Galaxy S26 Plus
- Galaxy S26 Ultra
- Galaxy S25
- Galaxy S25 Plus
- Galaxy S25 Ultra
- Galaxy S25 FE
- Galaxy S24
- Galaxy S24 Plus
- Galaxy S24 Ultra
- Galaxy S24 FE
- Galaxy S23
- Galaxy S23 Plus
- Galaxy S23 Ultra
The Galaxy S23 series is already on its second One UI 9 beta in some markets, while the Galaxy S24 FE has also progressed to Beta 2. The Galaxy S26 series is obviously in a slightly different position. Stable One UI 9 has already started rolling out, beginning in South Korea, so beta testers should gradually be moved onto the final build as Samsung expands availability to their respective markets.
Galaxy Z series
- Galaxy Z Fold 7
- Galaxy Z Flip 7
- Galaxy Z Fold 6
- Galaxy Z Flip 6
The Fold 7 and Flip 7 were part of Samsung’s officially announced September beta expansion, but the company surprised us by going another generation back with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6. Both 2024 foldables joined the beta in select markets at the beginning of September.
You won’t see the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Z Fold 8 Ultra or Z Flip 8 on this list because those phones shipped with stable One UI 9 out of the box.
Samsung is taking the beta to much cheaper Galaxy phones
This is where One UI 9 becomes particularly interesting. Samsung has allowed Galaxy A-series devices into previous One UI beta programs only once, but access generally remained limited. One UI 9 is going much further. The following Galaxy A-series phones are now testing public One UI 9 builds:
- Galaxy A57
- Galaxy A56
- Galaxy A55
- Galaxy A36
- Galaxy A35
- Galaxy A25
- Galaxy A15 5G
The Galaxy A57 was among the first mid-range phones to join, followed by the A56, A36, A55 and A35. Then Samsung started moving further down the range. The Galaxy A25 joined the One UI 9 beta in the UK in mid-September, making it the first A2x-series device to participate in Samsung’s public One UI beta program.
Samsung has now gone even cheaper. On September 22, the Galaxy A15 5G received its first One UI 9 beta in India. The roughly 2.76GB update carries the September 2026 security patch and, more importantly, makes the A15 5G the first Galaxy A1x device to enter Samsung’s public One UI beta program.
That’s a pretty significant change in how Samsung tests major Android updates. Instead of relying almost entirely on flagship owners before pushing stable software to cheaper phones, Samsung is now collecting beta feedback from devices covering a much wider range of hardware.
There are two other devices worth keeping an eye on: the Galaxy A07 and Galaxy M34. Both have been spotted in Samsung’s wider One UI 9 development pipeline, but we haven’t found enough evidence to confirm that Samsung has opened a public One UI 9 beta program for either phone through Samsung Members.
The Galaxy M34, for example, has had Android 17-based firmware under internal testing for months. The Galaxy A07 has similarly appeared among devices Samsung is preparing One UI 9 for, but current public beta trackers still list it as being in internal development rather than available for enrollment.
That means Samsung’s overall One UI 9 testing pool is even larger than the 25 phones currently confirmed with public beta builds.
There’s also talk that the Galaxy A16 5G could become another unusually affordable addition to the public beta program. Samsung is already internally testing One UI 9 for the device, but until an enrollment banner or downloadable beta appears, we’d treat reports of a public beta as speculation.
Can you install the One UI 9 beta in Kenya?
Unfortunately, owning one of the phones above doesn’t automatically mean you can install the beta. Samsung limits the program by country, device variant, and CSC. The exact markets also differ depending on the phone.
Samsung’s official September expansion specifically named India, South Korea, the UK, and the US for the newer devices, while the original Galaxy S26 beta also covered Germany and Poland. Kenya hasn’t been included among Samsung’s announced One UI 9 beta markets.
For supported regions, enrollment happens through the Samsung Members app. Eligible users should see a One UI 9 Beta Program banner, register their device, then head to Settings > Software update > Download and install.
Installing firmware manually from another region is a different matter entirely and isn’t something we’d recommend on a primary phone, especially with beta software.
The beta list doesn’t tell us who gets stable One UI 9 first
There’s one other thing worth keeping in mind. A phone joining the One UI 9 beta doesn’t necessarily mean its stable update is around the corner, nor does the order in which devices entered the beta guarantee the final rollout order.
Samsung’s edited Thailand announcement is a good reminder of that. The company has gone from publishing specific September dates to giving itself much broader rollout windows. Different regional announcements also have different schedules. Samsung Singapore, for instance, said its Galaxy S26 rollout would start September 21, while Samsung Australia says its rollout begins toward the end of September.
For now, Samsung has only made one thing clear: One UI 9 is rolling out in stages.
But with everything from the Galaxy S26 Ultra down to the Galaxy A15 5G already participating in beta testing, Samsung appears determined to test Android 17 across a far wider slice of its smartphone lineup before the stable update reaches everyone.
And considering an A1x phone has now joined the beta party, we wouldn’t rule out seeing another surprise device sneak in before Samsung is done.
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