Samsung Android 9 beta program is ready to begin, probably today

If you have ever owned a Samsung device, you would know Samsung is usually one of the last manufacturers to push out new Android updates to their flagship devices. The Galaxy S8 and S8+ users received the Android 8 Oreo update about 6 months after Google released Android 8 Oreo officially. Which is a really long time considering that the S8 and S8+ were both flagship devices.

However, since Google introduced Project Treble with a promise to allow manufacturers to push out new Android versions faster to their devices. We may or may not have some luck. The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ do indeed support Project Treble so Samsung could be ready to start beta testing Android 9 Pie on the Galaxy S9 and S9+ soon.

Related:

• Android Pie features: Digital Wellbeing | App actions
• When will my Android phone get Android 9 update
• Best Samsung phones in 2018

Samsung Android 9 beta release date

Update [Nov 7]: Through the official Samsung Developer Conference app, the company has confirmed that Android 9 Pie beta will be announced at this event, which kicks off today, November 7. Whether the rollout will commence immediately is unknown, but this is likely to be the case.

Update [Oct 22]: Samsung has confirmed that Android 9 Pie will be ready for download in early 2019. However, this is the stable version, with the company expected to release the beta version by the end of October or in early November 2018, just like we had predicted before.

Since the Galaxy S9 and S9+ support Project Treble, Samsung may start its beta testing as early as November. We know Samsung’s beta testing program usually lasts a couple of months, so the earliest we can expect the stable build is January 2019. It’s time to see if Project Treble does actually make a difference or not.

The beta test would allow Samsung to collect user feedback and remove any bugs and fix performance issues before it rolls out the official Android 9 Pie update.

Samsung Android 9 beta device list

Samsung would be releasing the beta update for the Galaxy S9/S9+. These devices would be eligible for the beta test program and users should have the ability to opt-in and get to check out Samsungs take on the Android 9 Pie update.

Though, only the Galaxy S9/S9+ would be receiving the beta updates because they will be the first ones to rock Samsung’s Android 9 OS update. Samsung doesn’t release a beta for all of its devices, which is fine. The Galaxy S9 beta would follow the stable update, probably in December 2018.

Thereafter, you can expect Samsung to release the stable update — not beta — for the Galaxy Note 9 (Q1 probably), Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus (April 2019 probably), Galaxy Note 8 (May 2019 probably) and the other eligible Samsung devices for the Pie update.

Related: Samsung Android 9 Pie device list and release info

Since the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge have already received two major Android upgrades (Nougat and Oreo), so it’s highly unlikely Samsung would roll out the Android 9 Pie update for them.

Samsung Android 9 update: What to expect

Samsung likes to add their own skin over Android as well as include a plethora of features of which some are highly useful, but some are downright poor copies of apps already offered by Google.

However, Samsung has improved their optimization drastically over the past two years, while also making the UI far more pleasing than the last few years. We expect to see the new Samsung Experience 10 custom skin atop its Pie update, but more on that below.

Of course, you favorite Android Pie features would make it to, like App slices and digital wellbeing, which come in handy many a time. App slices feature lets you pick up basic activities from an app right from the app drawer without the need to open the app first.

You can check out all the new features from Android Pie here.

Samsung Experience 10

Along with the release of Android 9 Pie update, we may also see the company’s new Samsung new Experience UI 10. The new skin might introduce Gesture Navigation which would allow users to make use of the whole display by hiding the navigation bar at the bottom for additional screen space.

We can also expect a new recent apps menu as well as the ability to customize the lockscreen and always-on display even more. Samsung has already shown off some of the changes we could see in Experience UI 10 by the development of the Goodlock app.

Bixby 2.0 is also expected to arrive with the Samsung Experience 10 UI that will company the Samsung’s Android 9 update, but don’t expect to be blown away by it. You may be already better with Google Assistant and its helpful commands.

Apart from a little design overhaul and a few optimizations, we don’t expect to see major changes over the current Samsung Experience 9.0 in terms of UI.

Which Samsung Galaxy device do you own? Let us know in your comments below.