Samsung’s Android 14 update should be rolling out any day now [U]

Ben Schoon | Oct 24 2023 - 8:39 am PT

Android 14 launched for Google Pixel devices on October 4, but it’s been pretty quiet in regards to a formal release from other brands. Samsung has been working on Android 14 in beta for a few months, and the stable release should be coming pretty much any time now.

Once upon a time, Samsung was one of the slowest Android brands to adopt new OS versions, often taking several months or the better part of a year to launch an update on even flagship devices. But, in recent years, that’s gotten dramatically better, with Samsung usually only a couple of months behind Google.

This year, Samsung opened its One UI 6.0 beta, based on Android 14, in mid-August, which was in line with last year’s release even despite some last-minute delays. In the time since, the company has expanded the beta to more countries and many more devices and released multiple beta updates to refine Android-based skin.

Last year, Android 13 released for Samsung’s then-flagship, the Galaxy S22, on October 24. This year’s increased pace during the beta strongly suggests that we’ll be seeing a similar timeline this year and, from the looks of it, that could be basically any day now.

Tarun Vats on Twitter/X spotted new updates for the Galaxy S23 series destined for Europe, Korea, and India, all based on One UI 6.0. The builds are identified as stable updates by the “BWJG” tag, as explained by SamMobile. That’s a test build for the stable Android 14 release and shows that Samsung is getting quite close to the final release. Spotted alongside those builds, however, was yet another beta build, suggesting that Samsung may release one last beta before rolling out the final upgrade.

Update 10/24: As expected, Samsung did roll out one last beta update for the Galaxy S23 series last week, but that’s looking like the last one. In a new forum post, a Samsung moderator confirmed that the beta program is set to close this week, which points to next week being the launch window we’ve been waiting for. Technical issues could hold things back, as they have occasionally done in the past, but we’re getting close to the final launch.

When Samsung does release its stable Android 14 update, it will be released first for Galaxy S23 series devices before expanding to previous generations, foldables, and more affordable lineups. If last year was any indication, we’ll be in for a swift rollout too.