Samsung pauses One UI 8 rollout on Android 16 for S22, S23 and S24

Samsung has paused and in some cases removed its Android 16 based One UI 8 update for several Galaxy lines after a late September rollout, affecting users of the Galaxy S22, S23 and S24 families in multiple markets. The company has taken at least one build off its servers in South Korea and halted further distribution for other models while it investigates, according to reports and user accounts; Samsung has not publicly explained the moves.

One UI 8, built on Android 16, was introduced as a broad interface and feature update, bringing visual changes and new tools across Samsung apps and services. The release adds expanded multimodal Galaxy AI capabilities, lock screen personalization with an adaptive clock design, a Now Bar that shows realtime app activity and media progress, and integrations such as Gemini Live and Circle to Search. Creative features like Drawing Assist and Writing Assist are included, and Samsung says the update enhances device privacy and security with technologies such as Knox Enhanced Encrypted Protection, the Personal Data Engine and Knox Matrix.

The rollout began in late September and initially reached a range of devices. Within weeks Samsung paused the...