The new One UI 7 update is the center of attention among Samsung fans. It's an exciting new release that seemingly steers One UI in a new direction. One UI 7 looks great, performs flawlessly on the Galaxy S25, and is empowered by upgraded Galaxy AI tools. Now Bar and Now Brief also look pretty sweet.

How can you get your hands on One UI 7 and join the fun? There is a cost, and ignoring beta testing, your only options are to pay $799 or more for a Galaxy S25 flagship (or less with a trade-in) or muster your patience and wait for Samsung to bring One UI 7 to your older phone.

It may seem unfair, and you might be tempted to say that Samsung is gatekeeping One UI 7 to boost Galaxy S25 sales. Who knows?! You might be right. But the reality is that things have always been this way.

As a matter of fact, we used to have to wait longer for new One UI updates to arrive on older flagship phones, and when they did, the feature disparity was much greater than it is today.

But things seem to have improved in recent years, with fewer One UI features remaining exclusive to the latest flagship phones — at least where hardware limitations don't stand in the way — and with better optimization from the get-go.

The story continues after our One UI 7 hands-on video

Regarding the current situation, as much as we want One UI 7 to spread as fast as possible, we must recognize that the Galaxy S25 left its pre-order period and officially hit store shelves mere days ago.

The Galaxy S24 series may receive the update soon enough, but it will take longer for older models. The rule of thumb is that the older a phone is, the later it might receive the newest OS upgrade.

Whether for technical or marketing reasons, brand-new premium phones will likely always have a bit of time exclusivity over the latest One UI upgrade. And if you want access to the latest and greatest experience, you either pay for a hardware upgrade or sit tight and wait for Samsung to equalize the playing field.

People in select markets can also take a shortcut through the beta program, but there are limitations and risks associated with this strategy.

Would we like for Samsung to be quicker with its updates and try to avoid time exclusivities? Of course! But firmware development is tricky. And if an update for an older phone (like the S24) has to be delayed, there is no way Samsung would allow that setback to prevent the launch of a new flagship (like the S25) on time and according to the schedule. One thing can't depend on the other.

We hope Samsung will find a solution for even faster OS upgrade roll-outs for older Galaxy phone models. And given enough feedback, fans and the customer base could influence Samsung to do even better. But for now, this is the reality we live in, where we either pay with money or with time. Some say they're synonyms.

The post The cost of early One UI 7: Your money or your patience appeared first on SamMobile.