Samsung has officially announced by way of an update on its community web page that it is looking to roll out the Android 8.0 Oreo update for all Galaxy S8 models as well as Galaxy Note units in the next two or three weeks. Some may remember that more than a month ago, the South Korean tech giant had started deploying the Android Oreo update to its Galaxy S8 devices. But due to certain reboot related issues, the company was compelled to stop the roll out.
It was back in August of last year when Google had first officially introduced Android Oreo, the current latest version of Android, the most widely used mobile operating system in the world. But as often is the case in any new Android version, it took some time for Android Oreo to get to devices, even those manufactured by the planet’s number one mobile brand itself -- Samsung.
To Samsung’s credit, it did made some significant progress in bringing Android Oreo to its Galaxy smartphones in the last several months. Of course, the priority was to roll out Oreo first to the South Korean phone maker’s flagships and most recent Galaxy models. Among the first to get the latest Android version were units sold by the big carriers. Owners of unlocked Galaxy devices, however, had to exercise some bit of patience.
In its forum post, Samsung did well to explain why unlocked units took a longer time getting Android Oreo. According to the company, the main reason is that unlocked handsets had to undergo more stringent tests, at least when compared to units sold from big carriers. The idea behind the stricter testing, of course, is to make sure that network functionality is not only intact but able to perform on a reasonably consistent manner across all supported networks.
Samsung’s latest flagship device offerings -- the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9 Plus -- had recently launched preloaded with Android Oreo. As for other Galaxy models, they are expected to get Oreo soon. For reference, here are the specific devices getting the newest version of Android:
