Samsung’s 2022 flagship just beat 2025 phones to Android 16

While other Android companies are yet to update their 2025 flagship devices to Android 16, Samsung has gone ahead and pushed the build live for its 2022 flagship — the Galaxy S22 series. The One UI 8 update is currently live for the device in selected European regions.

Over the last few weeks, Samsung has been aggressively rolling out the One UI 8 update for its flagship smartphones and foldables. The stable build first made its way to the Galaxy S25 in mid-September, followed by the S24 and S23 series jumping on the bandwagon in the following weeks. Within three weeks of the initial rollout, Samsung has now pushed Android 16 live for the Galaxy S22 series.

If you own the S22 Ultra or any of its smaller siblings, navigate to Settings > Software Update > Download and install, and tap the Check for update button.

According to Samsung’s official One UI 8 release timeline, the Galaxy S22 series was slated to receive the update in October. Most companies tend to stretch such rollouts until the end of the month — especially for older devices — but not Samsung. It has seeded the stable One UI 8 build live in the first week of the month itself.

Reports indicate the GYI7 firmware for the S22 is currently live in Poland, Croatia, Ukraine, Italy, and select other European regions. The 3.1GB update bumps the security patch to September — not October, but I don’t think S22 owners will be complaining about this.

This marks the final major OS update for the Galaxy S22, based on Samsung’s software policy. The phone debuted with Android 12 and One UI 4.1, and Samsung had committed to four major Android updates for it.

One UI 8 rollout shows Samsung isn’t playing favorites

The stable One UI 8 firmware should soon also land for Samsung’s 2022 foldables — the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Flip 4. All these devices will get most of the improvements in One UI 8, barring the Galaxy AI enhancements.

Samsung has not just updated its high-end devices to One UI 8. The stable Android 16 build has also reached several of its mid-range phones, including the Galaxy A56, A55, A35, and A25. Availability will vary by region, so if the update hasn’t shown up yet, you may need to wait a few more days or weeks.