Samsung’s new update surprises Galaxy users – millions of phones at once

Timing is everything – and that is certainly the case with Samsung’s surprising new update for millions of Galaxy users around the world. It is not What is changing, but how fast it’s changing. And that’s really good news.

Samsung is often criticized for its slow and patchy delivery of security, feature and operating system updates. Part of this is due to Android, but for millions of users it has become a monthly waiting routine, not knowing when their devices will be updated. That could soon change – perhaps at least to some extent.

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Discovered by SamMobile“One UI 6.1.1 is perhaps the fastest One UI update released globally. Software updates for Galaxy devices are usually released in phases. These updates appear in a few markets first before gradually making their way to all corners of the world… But that is not the case with One UI 6.1.1.”

It has long been a source of frustration that Samsung updates leak from model to model, country to country, and carrier to carrier despite warning about a serious security flaw, and users are not given timely notice of when their device will be updated.

As Apple releases iOS 18 worldwide, Samsung is at least catching up some the ground between its devices and iPhones when it comes to seamless updates everywhere at once. Less than a week after its debut in Korea, Samsung announced its global rollout. “It’s not unusual for updates to go live in multiple countries at the same time. But they don’t usually roll out superwide in just 24 hours. For One UI 6.1.1, Samsung has broken that long-standing tradition.”

While this is good news for those waiting for One UI 6.1.1, it has broader implications. SamMobile points out that the patchy approach applies: “Whether it’s a security update or one that brings a new version of Android and/or One UI, it can take a few weeks for everyone to receive it.” As exciting as an Android or Samsung UI update may be, with security fixes, delays are more critical, especially when devices are under attack. Samsung has always followed the same update approach regardless.

That’s certainly been the case recently, when several Android security flaws prompted the US government to mandate updates, while Google confirmed successful attacks on phones. And while Samsung outperformed everyone else except Pixel in the speed of its updates, the news was less good for millions of users outside of the monthly security update schedule, as the usual approach was not followed.

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While this latest surprise measure will not solve that problem, it should provide more predictability and certainty for those still on schedule. SamMobile says: “Hopefully One UI 6.1.1 was not just a one-off thing and Samsung will repeat the quick global release with future updates, including the upcoming One UI 7.0.”

If this does indeed indicate an acceleration of security updates, then this is a game changer for Samsung users around the world. Stay tuned…