The One UI 9.5 beta for the Galaxy S26 looks close. On 12th November 2026, a new beta build for the Korean Galaxy S26 Ultra appeared on Samsung’s test server, numbered S948NKSU6ZZKF. It replaces an earlier beta build, and the first build marked as a beta showed up on 4th November. A “Z” in the fourth-to-last place of the build number marks it as a beta, the kind of build Samsung sends to owners who sign up to test new software. The tipster who spotted the latest one hopes the beta arrives next week. Nothing is official yet.
So if you own a Galaxy phone, you’ll want to know whether yours gets One UI 9.5, and when.
What One UI 9.5 is
One UI is Samsung’s version of Android. Samsung releases a big version every year and a smaller “.5” version about six months later. This year’s big version, One UI 9, is built on Android 17. Samsung announced it with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Flip 8 on 22nd July 2026, and the Galaxy S26 started getting it on 16th September 2026. One UI 9.5 is the next step.
A “.5” update stays on the same Android version, yet it can be a bigger job than the number suggests. Google updates Android a few times a year after each big release, and One UI 8.5 was built on one of those later releases, Android 16 QPR2, which came with new developer tools and deeper changes under the hood. Those deeper changes are why older phones can get left behind on a “.5” update. Google is now testing Android 17 QPR2 on its Pixel phones, and while Samsung hasn’t said what One UI 9.5 is built on, we think it follows the same path.
No One UI 9.5 feature is official either. One leaked test build shows a Phone app setting that records WhatsApp, Telegram and Google Meet calls, which Galaxy phones can’t do today.
When the beta could start
The One UI 8.5 cycle gives the best guide. Samsung opened the One UI 8.5 beta on 8th December 2025 for the Galaxy S25, S25+ and S25 Ultra, in Germany, India, Korea, Poland, the UK and the US. It used the same six countries when it opened the One UI 9 beta for the Galaxy S26 on 12th May 2026. So expect those six again, though Samsung hasn’t named them for One UI 9.5.
This year, Samsung has been ahead of that pace. We saw it testing One UI 9.5 on the Galaxy S26 and the unannounced Galaxy S27 back in August, and beta builds are on the server in the first half of November. If the tipster is right about next week, the S26 beta would start about three weeks earlier than last year’s.
If you’re on a Galaxy S25, you’ll probably wait longer. In the One UI 8.5 cycle, the previous flagship, the Galaxy S24, didn’t get the One UI 8.5 beta until 26th March 2026, more than three months after the S25. We haven’t seen a One UI 9.5 beta build for the S25 yet.
When it opens, joining should work the same way as it did for One UI 9: sign up in the Samsung Members app, then check Settings, Software update for the download. It’s test software, so back up your phone first.
Which phones should get it
There’s no date for the finished version. In the One UI 8.5 cycle, the Galaxy S26 launched with it already installed in February 2026, and older phones got it in the months after. The rollout went far down the range, and by June it had reached phones as cheap as the Galaxy A06 5G. We expect One UI 9.5 to arrive with the Galaxy S27 early next year, and if Samsung repeats 2026, existing phones would follow from there.
That rollout also showed who misses out. One UI 8.5 skipped the Galaxy S22 series, Z Fold 4, Z Flip 4, A53 and A33. The S22 and A53 were promised four Android upgrades, and Android 16 was the fourth, so their big updates ended at One UI 8.
This year, the same thing applies to Samsung’s 2023 phones. The Galaxy S23 series launched on Android 13 with a promise of four Android upgrades, so Android 17 is its fourth, and One UI 9 is the last big update for it and the other 2023 Galaxy phones: the S23 FE, Z Fold 5, Z Flip 5, A54, A34 and A24, plus the Galaxy Tab S9 range. Samsung hasn’t said whether any of them will get One UI 9.5, and after what happened to the S22, we wouldn’t count on it.
Phones from the Galaxy S24 on are in a better spot. Samsung promised the S24 series seven generations of Android upgrades and has made seven-year promises for its later flagships too, so the S24, S25 and S26 have years of updates left. We think that if your phone got One UI 9 and isn’t on its last Android upgrade, One UI 9.5 should come too.
What it means in Kenya
Kenya wasn’t among the countries Samsung named for the One UI 8.5 or One UI 9 betas, so a Galaxy S26 bought here probably won’t be able to join this one either. The S26 and S26+ sold in Kenya also run Samsung’s Exynos 2600 chip rather than the Snapdragon used in the US, and they get their own firmware builds.
So for most Galaxy owners here, nothing changes this month. The update to wait for is the finished One UI 9.5, after the Galaxy S27 launches. If you have a Galaxy S23 or another 2023 Galaxy, One UI 9 is probably the last big update you’ll get, and the security patches carry on after it.
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