Samsung just rolled out One UI 8.5 alongside the Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra last month, but development clearly isn’t slowing down. Even though 8.5 hasn’t yet reached older models, the company is already hard at work on its next major revision: One UI 9, built on top of Android 17.
A first test firmware based on One UI 9 for the Galaxy S26 Ultra has now surfaced on Samsung’s servers. As usual, it didn’t take long for enthusiasts to grab the build and flash it onto Samsung’s latest flagship, giving us an early look at what’s coming.
Early look at One UI 9 on the Galaxy S26 Ultra
The leaked screenshots, captured on a Galaxy S26 Ultra running this internal firmware, confirm that this is still an early test version. At first glance, One UI 9 doesn’t dramatically change the overall look and feel compared to One UI 8.5. Most elements of the interface remain familiar, so anyone coming from the current software will feel right at home.
There are, however, a few visible tweaks. The most obvious changes appear in the quick settings panel, where Samsung has enlarged the volume and brightness sliders. These now stand out more clearly and should be easier to adjust, especially one‑handed or on the S26 Ultra’s large display.
Parental controls get their own spot
Samsung has also reorganised part of the Settings app. Parental Controls, previously nested under Digital Wellbeing, now show up as a separate, dedicated entry. This change should make it faster for parents and guardians to find and adjust restrictions and monitoring tools without having to dig through multiple menus.
For now, that seems to be the bulk of what’s new on the surface. Given how early this firmware is, that’s not surprising—Samsung typically adds or refines features over multiple internal and public test builds.
More One UI 9 builds are on the way
Since Google has already released beta versions of Android 17, Samsung’s timing lines up with its usual development cycle. We can expect additional One UI 9 test builds to appear in the coming weeks and months. Those should gradually introduce more visual changes, extra features, and under‑the‑hood optimisations before the software is ready for a wider rollout.
For now, this first leak mainly confirms that One UI 9 development for the Galaxy S26 Ultra is well underway, with modest visual adjustments and some minor but useful reorganisations in the Settings menu. More substantial changes are likely to come as Samsung continues to iterate on the new version.
