We just got our first look at Samsung One UI 9 — a build for the major software upgrade has appeared for the Galaxy S26 Ultra | Tech Radar

Overview

We just got our first look at Samsung One UI 9 — a build for the major software upgrade has appeared for the Galaxy S26 Ultra

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Details

One UI 9 is in progress for the Galaxy S26 Ultra (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

We haven't yet seen a wider rollout of the One UI 8.5 software that made its debut on the Samsung Galaxy S26 phones (unveiled at the end of February), but it seems progress is being made on One UI 9 too — as the first build of the update has just shown up.

As tipster Tarun Vats reports, there is now an official One UI 9 build on Samsung's servers – and the folks at Sam Mobile have been able to get it up and running on a phone. It's an important milestone in the development of any Android update, and worth noting.

The same source goes on to say that development will follow the same timeline as we saw last year with One UI 8 (based on Android 16). You may remember that after months of beta testing, it launched in July 2025 with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7.

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Older phones started to get One UI 8 from September 2025, so expect the same sort of cadence throughout 2026. It may not be too long before a One UI 9 beta program opens up (though you'll probably need a newer Samsung phone to access it).

BREAKING The first internal One UI 9 test build for the Galaxy S26 Series has been spotted on the server today. 👀Build Version: S948BXXU1BZC5/S948BOXM1BZC5/ S948BXXU1BZC5 Samsung has officially started One UI 9 development, following same timeline as last year. Repost 🔄 pic.twitter.com/1 Dyx BLb 2X4 March 16, 2026

BREAKING The first internal One UI 9 test build for the Galaxy S26 Series has been spotted on the server today. 👀Build Version: S948BXXU1BZC5/S948BOXM1BZC5/ S948BXXU1BZC5 Samsung has officially started One UI 9 development, following same timeline as last year. Repost 🔄 pic.twitter.com/1 Dyx BLb 2X4 March 16, 2026

At this early stage, the screenshots shared by Sam Mobile don't show much in the way of chances, but we know One UI 9 is going to be based on Android 17, and so that gives us some clues about what might be coming down the pipe with this major update.

Android 17 is already in beta testing on Pixel phones, and there are some interesting upgrades on the way: better support for lock screen widgets and app windowing for example, as well as improvements to how Android looks on less typical screen sizes.

It also seems as though Android 17 will support an i OS-like notification tweak, which means you'll be able to swipe down from the top left corner to show your notifications, and swipe down from the top right corner to show the Quick Settings.

No doubt there's more to come with Android 17 ahead of its grand unveiling at Google I/O 2026 in May as the Android 17 beta program continues. As usual, Samsung will apply its own tweaks and enhancements on top of Google's codebase as well.

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Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on Tech Radar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, Pop Sci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.

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Key Takeaways

• We just got our first look at Samsung One UI 9 — a build for the major software upgrade has appeared for the Galaxy S26 Ultra

• When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission

• One UI 9 is in progress for the Galaxy S26 Ultra (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

• We haven't yet seen a wider rollout of the One UI 8

• As tipster Tarun Vats reports, there is now an official One UI 9 build on Samsung's servers – and the folks at Sam Mobile have been able to get it up and running on a phone