Confirmed: Samsung's flagships getting Android Pie as late as 2019
Samsung has a knack of pushing software upgrades really late, and that is not going away any time soon. In a post on Samsung+ app, the South Korean giant has said that its phones will start receiving the latest Android Pie update early next year. Along with estimated timeline, the company also teased features that will come with the latest iteration. Here's more.
No devices mentioned, but flagships will be the first
In the latest post, the company didn't mention an exact date or the phones that will be receiving the update. However, the timeline falls pretty much in line with that followed for Android Oreo, which reached S8 in February 2018 and Note 8 a month later. Thus, we can expect something similar early next year, starting with Galaxy S9, S9 Plus, or Note 9.
Features coming with Android Pie update
The Android Pie update will be coming in the form of Samsung Experience 10, the company's latest user interface. According to the recently-shared teaser, the update will bring a range of features, including Adaptive Battery that will restrict CPU usage for rarely used apps and extend battery life as well as App Slices and Actions to recommend shortcuts based on day-to-day usage.
157 new emojis on the way too
Samsung is also bringing as many as 157 new emojis with the new update, including those for a bagel with cream cheese, mooncake, llama and teddy bear. The upcoming interface will also have a dark theme, scene optimizer in camera, and revamped Always-on display.
However, Official beta program could start pretty soon
Before the official release, Samsung will launch an official Android Pie beta program to let select users test the latest version. The support page for the program, which should run in the US, UK, and South Korea, is already up, suggesting the beta release could start (for S9, S9 Plus users) by the end of this month. However, that still remains to be confirmed.
