Samsung phones to get One UI 8 ‘this summer’; Galaxy Buds and Watches to get Gemini soon

Google hosted The Android Show: I/O Edition yesterday where it announced new updates coming to Android devices later this year. This event was held as a prequel to the Google I/O conference, which is taking place next week. During the show, the company’s President for Android Ecosystem, Sameer Samat revealed when Android 16 will arrive on Pixel phones and other Android devices including Samsung smartphones. In addition to this, he also revealed details about Gemini, Google’s AI assistant, arriving on Samsung smartwatches and earbuds.

One UI 8 release timeline revealed

• Towards the end of the special edition of The Android Show, Samat announced that Android 16 will begin rolling out to Google Pixel smartphones next month. He added that other Android devices, including those from Samsung, will receive the update “this summer.”
• As per a report by SamMobile, the announcement suggests Android 16 will arrive on eligible Samsung smartphones and tablets anywhere between June 20th and September 22nd.
• It is worth mentioning that Android 16 will be available on Samsung smartphones and tablets as One UI 8.
• To recall, reports earlier this month indicated that Samsung may launch One UI 8 beta program in June this year.
• The same report also mentioned that Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 foldable-display smartphones will debut with Android 16-based One UI 8. These devices are expected to launch in July this year.

Gemini coming to Samsung smartwatches and earbuds

• Apart from revealing details about Android 16, Google also announced that it is bringing its AI assistant, Gemini, to more devices.
• The company, in a blog post, wrote that it will bring Gemini to Wear OS-powered smartwatches “in the coming months”. 
• In the same blog post, the company wrote that it will bring Gemini to earbuds by Sony and Samsung soon.
• The announcement follows a report which stated that Samsung has started rolling out Gemini integration to the side button its Galaxy A-series smartphones.

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