Samsung One UI 3.0 Beta For Galaxy Note 10 Ends, Galaxy S10 Begins
Android 11 was released to the public on September 8, 2020. In the old world order, it wouldn't be until January or February the following year at the earliest before Samsung Galaxy phone owners would even hear anything about the update from Samsung. In less than three months, however, Samsung has already rolled out betas for its One UI 3.0, based on Android 11, of course, to its most recent flagships. Granted, it's still in beta testing but things are seemingly on track for a stable release soon given how things are moving smoothly except for one specific case.
The start of the Samsung One UI 3.0 beta program itself was a bit of a shock, beginning just a day after Android 11's release. Samsung has, to its credit, been shortening the gap between Google's release and its public testing phases, perhaps proving its commitment to turning over a new leaf. It also recently committed to a three-year software support period for a large batch of its more recent phones.
After the Galaxy S20, Samsung moved on to the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 10. According to a notice given to South Korean testers, Samsung is closing the program for the Galaxy Note 10, perhaps hinting that the release for the phone is near. That said, Galaxy S20 beta testers haven't received a similar announcement, casting doubt on that theory.
The beta program is far from over, though, especially as far as premium Galaxy phones are concerned. While the testing period for the Galaxy Note 10 has ended, the program has just gone live for the Galaxy S10 series. That could mean that we might still be a month or so away from a stable release, hopefully, before Samsung gets busy with the early Galaxy S21 debut.
Then again, haste makes waste, and Samsung was bitten hard before when it rolled out major updates a bit too early. Even now there are reports that Samsung paused the One UI 3.0 beta for the Galaxy Z Fold 2 because of a critical bug that is locking owners out of their phones by not accepting any passcode, pattern, or fingerprint. It would definitely be better for Samsung to delay such a launch to iron out the kinks but it is still encouraging to see that it is working faster than it has ever before.