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Owners of at least six popular Samsung devices will be happy to learn that they may soon be getting the update to Android 8.0 (Oreo). That’s according to a new update timetable spotted at a Samsung Turkey-run site called Güncelmiyiz. The timetable lists Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S7, and Galaxy S7 Edge, as well as the 2017 iteration of the Samsung Galaxy A3, Galaxy A5, and Galaxy A7. The planned release dates for the update range from March 30 through May 25, depending on the device in question. It’s worth pointing out that the actual updates won’t necessarily follow the listings and the dates should be taken with a grain of salt.
With regard to specifics for the updates included at the site, everything starts with the Galaxy Note 8 on March 30. Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge, on the other hand, are slated for April 13 for the start of roll-outs. The 2017 Samsung Galaxy A Series devices follow that on May 25. As is always the case, if these do begin updating on those respective dates, the updates will likely take days or weeks to roll out completely. That holds especially true if these are going to be on the global scale rather than locally. With regard to Oreo itself, the new Android OS version brings mostly under-the-hood changes for optimization. However, it also includes a couple of U.I. changes and new features thanks to improvements to Samsung’s own Samsung Experience software overlay. On the user-facing side, Android Oreo includes picture-in-picture mode for those devices that don’t already have it and notification improvements. Samsung Experience 9.0 delivers keyboard enhancements and tools, as well as improvements across most of Samsung’s stock applications.
It bears repeating that the updates listed on the site most likely doesn’t apply to every location around the world and may not even end up being followed by the company. Instead, these should be treated as scheduled but with a chance that they’ll be changed since at least one of the devices – the Galaxy Note 8 – is only in the testing phases. Moreover, Samsung’s international devices actually use a different SoC than those found in the U.S. So there’s a chance those are on a separate timetable. In the meantime, with any luck and if Samsung’s past roll-outs are anything to go by, these updates will at least signal the part of a wave of firmware enhancements.