What you need to know
- Internal test builds of Samsung's One UI 6 (Android 14) have been spotted for the Galaxy S23 series.
- Internal builds for the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4 were discovered, as well.
- Google pushed the Android 14 Beta 1.1 build nearly two weeks ago and its expect that the software's Beta 2 build may roll out at some point during May.
Android 14 is the next major OS release users and developers are eagerly awaiting, but it looks like the South Korean tech giant is getting out ahead of its release with some early testing.
Tarun Vats on Twitter has apparently spotted Samsung's internal build numbers for its Android 14 skin (via 9to5Google). According to Vats, three build numbers were seen: S918BXXU1BWE2, S918BOXM1BWE2, and S918BXXU1BWE2.
Each number ties back to each of the devices in the most recent Galaxy S23 series. As expected, Samsung's version of Android 14 will likely be dubbed "One UI 6."
Breaking..!!!OneUI 6 :: Galaxy S23 SeriesFIRST OneUI 6 test build spotted on server today..BUILD :: S918BXXU1BWE2/S918BOXM1BWE2/S918BXXU1BWE2Share this awesome news to everyone🥳🥳 #OneUI6#GalaxyS23Ultra#galaxys23series #GalaxyUpdates pic.twitter.com/8xFqI8nmXwMay 9, 2023
The Korean OEM is a bit early as Vats suggests it's beginning internal testing of the next major Android OS release "two months" in advance. Samsung started internally testing One UI 5 (Android 13) on the Galaxy S22 series in early July 2022. The testing gave Samsung a three-week buffer to try and iron out some of the major problems before it rolled out the public beta tests for users later that same month.
If Samsung follows this same time span, as Vats also assumed, users may be in for a public beta of One UI 6 (Android 14) in July, as well.
On the other hand, SamMobile unearthed evidence that Samsung is beginning internal tests of One UI 6 on two popular foldables: the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4. The builds bear firmware versions F936BXXU2DWE1 and F721BXXU2DWD7, respectively.
In terms of Android 14's development, things are still coming together. Google pushed the Android 14 Beta 1.1 beta build, which contained several bug fixes for users and their Pixel devices participating in the experiment. Now that we're into May, we're expecting Google to push Android 14's Beta 2 build at some point.
Late last year, Samsung's VP already mentioned the company's shift to offering seamless updates with the next One UI version, which would give users a less intrusive way to update their phones.
Also, Google I/O 2023 is happening tomorrow, May 10, at 10 am PT, where the company is prepping to show a little bit more of what's happening with Android OS' next major release. Although, it's not entirely clear what all Samsung is planning to include with its version of Android 14 once it releases later this year.
