Samsung
This one feature will make you love the Samsung Galaxy S25
As a long-time Samsung Galaxy user, I am familiar with many of the key innovations and developments in the smartphone industry. In the ever-evolving smartphone technology, software updates play a crucial role in enhancing device performance, security, and features.
The world’s best smartphone maker, Samsung Electronics, is rumored to be bringing a significant software update method to its upcoming flagship, the Galaxy S25 series, with the introduction of seamless software updates. This feature, if implemented, could change things up for how its phones manage software upgrades. It would bring Samsung in line with what users have come to expect from competitors like Google.
Importance of Seamless software update?
Having seamless updates makes life a lot easier for smartphone users. Normally, updating a phone’s software means being without your device for several minutes or even longer (in major software update cases) while the system prepares, installs, and reboots. This process can be a real pain, especially if you’re out or right in the middle of something important.
With Seamless updates, you don’t need to worry about the time-consuming process. It allows the phone to download an update in the background and install it to an inactive partition. When you reboot your phone, it switches to this updated partition, minimizing downtime. There’s a safety net; if something goes wrong with the new software update, the phone can revert to the previous version easily, reducing the risk of serious issues like “bricking” your device.
If the Galaxy S25 rumors turn out to be true, Samsung might finally introduce a feature that many users, particularly beta testers of One UI, have been eagerly anticipating.
From my own experience in One UI beta testing, the lack of seamless updates often meant extended times without phone functionality during updates. This could change with the S25, making beta testing more accessible and less difficult.
Samsung has provided updates effectively in the past, but they’ve never been seamless like Google‘s. By adopting the seamless updates method, Samsung could show they care about user experience just as much.
About the history, Google introduced seamless updates with Android 7.0 Nougat in 2016, setting a benchmark for Android device updates. Here’s how Google does it:
Google uses A/B system partitions where one partition (A) runs the current software, and updates are installed on the other (B) without interrupting the user. The whole process happens in the background, and once they’re ready, a reboot is all that’s required to switch to the new version.
How will it change the Galaxy S25 series experience?
The Galaxy S25 series users will have a great experience with the seamless software updates. The update would be downloaded and installed on an inactive system partition. When you decide to reboot or it happens automatically, your phone will switch to the updated system without the long wait typically associated with updates. The actual time your phone is unusable might only be the boot time, significantly less than the current update processes.
The Galaxy S25 will be breaking new ground here, bringing this crucial feature to the table before any other Samsung phone. It’ll be the only model in the Galaxy family.
Alongside this feature, there’s expected to be a larger display for all models, with the S25 Ultra possibly featuring a more rounded back for comfort. It is expected to be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, promising exceptional performance. The series is rumored to launch in January 2025 with the Android 15-based One UI 7 software.
Disclaimer
Please note, as of now, there’s no official confirmation from Samsung regarding the inclusion of seamless updates or the exact specifications of the Galaxy S25 series. All the information provided is based on leaks and rumors, subject to change or clarification upon official release.