Quick summary
Samsung started the update to One UI 9 with Android 17.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 models will get the update first, with My FanCam being the biggest new feature.
Samsung has pushed the switch on the One UI 9 update, bringing out a whole range of new features for those with older Galaxy devices.
One UI 9 made its debut on Galaxy Z devices in the summer, but starting September 16, the update will roll out to older phones. The Galaxy S26 family is the first in the line, with other eligible devices to follow.
The update means there is feature parity between Samsung’s latest phones, with new features including My FanCam, new Now Brief cards and additional privacy controls.
Samsung’s One UI 9 is based on Android 17, so the update will also move to the latest version of Google’s software, but with a number of additions that Samsung layers in.
Highlights include Now Nudge to help you find relevant information from messages, Creative Studio which now suggests image generation ideas, Interpreter with a new threaded view to make it even easier to follow translated conversations and a better structure for Voice Recorder.
The headline feature here is really My FanCam, which will probably be the thing people notice the most. This allows you to select a person in a video and the focus follows that person, keeping them centered.
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It’s really a social content factory, which means you can record something like a show or performance, and then use AI to follow just one person in that video. It means you can basically create a highlight reel that is all about that one person, rather than everything that was going on.
It’s perfect for the school performance where you’re only interested in your own child, but it’s likely to result in a lot of videos of bands sharing just one person in that band.
Samsung has a 7-year update policy on many of its devices, so many will be in line for an update – but the roll-out is expected over the rest of 2026. Usually, the update is only done when Samsung launches its next phone – with One UI 9.5.
However, there aren’t many new features in this update, with most of the focus being on AI features. That drew the ire of commenters on Reddit, with some comparing it to the fairly substantial update that came with iOS 27.