Samsung’s Android 15 update has been halted
Samsung began the process of updating millions of smartphones around the world to its latest One UI 7 (Android 15) software last week, but that process has now been halted. Over the weekend, Samsung purged the One UI 7 update from its servers, which indicates that a serious problem has occurred. The company isn't offering any explanation for the pause yet, but reports around the Internet suggest there are some bugs problematic enough that it required Samsung to slam on the brakes.
This update was destined for the Galaxy S24, Z Fold 6, and Z Flip 6, all of which launched with One UI 6 (Android 14). Samsung promises seven years of update support like Google, but it takes longer for it to release new operating system versions. Not only does Samsung modify the way Android looks, but it also integrates a raft of Galaxy AI features with Android. It takes time to do that—seven months and counting since Android 15's release—but it seems Samsung should have spent a little more time testing all those changes.
As soon as Samsung began the rollout on April 7, Galaxy S24 users in Korea noticed their phones would intermittently refuse to unlock, as reported by frequent Samsung leaker IceUniverse. There are also reports that Samsung's supposedly private Secure Folder has a bug in One UI 7 that can see photos from the gallery appear in auto-generated Stories. These Stories are accessible from outside the Secure Folder, which rather defeats the purpose of having private photos.