Galaxy Fold One UI 3.0 Android 11 Update Starts Rolling Out

Samsung has been rather quick with the Android 11 updates that were packaged with One UI 3.0, far better than its past performance. Of course, not all Galaxy phones are created equal and some less conventional phones might have required more work and testing to get the update right. Naturally, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 got the update first but now even the Z-less first foldable phone is finally getting One UI 3.0 and Android 11 in one go.

Some may consider Android 11 as a relatively minor update and Samsung's One UI 3.0 may be likewise. It builds upon and refines the new design language that Samsung introduced in the One UI series, focusing on making notifications less intrusive and putting important controls within easy reach of thumbs. On the Android 11 side, the interface gets chat bubbles and one-time permissions for apps, among other things.

Of course, what made the update a tad more complicated for the Galaxy Fold and the Galaxy Z Fold 2 is that Samsung had to make sure that the UI is similar and flows seamlessly between the foldable phones' two screens. Considering very few devices in the wild make use of this "continuity" feature, it doesn't exactly get much real-world testing outside of Samsung's foldables.

Following the release of the stable update for the Galaxy Z Fold 2 last week, Samsung has surprisingly made the same update now available for the first-gen Galaxy Fold in various markets in Europe as well as UAE. In addition to Samsung's One UI 3.0 and Android 11, the update also includes the latest January security patches as well.

The update for the Galaxy Z Fold 2 is also reaching the US from across the pond. The rollout has started with Verizon models, though, and might take some time before it fully rolls out over the air to all devices.