A customer service representative of smartphone manufacturer Samsung stated in a conversation with a member of the XDA Developers forums that the Galaxy S6 will soon receive Android 8.0 Oreo. The representative also mentioned that the software upgrade to Android Oreo will roll out until the end of February, noting how there is still no information regarding the official date of the release. The representative further added that the South Korea-based tech giant will soon clarify which specific models will receive Android Oreo. The screenshots seen in the gallery below were provided by the source to back their claims.
While it is important to take the statements of customer service representatives with a grain of salt, this is not the first time that a Samsung official claimed that the tech firm will release an Android Oreo update for the Galaxy S6 lineup. Back in November, another customer service representative said the same, even though they didn’t elaborate on the matter. In addition, an industry insider from China recently leaked the supposed list of Samsung-made devices that will receive Android Oreo. Aside from the Galaxy S6, the leak claimed the Galaxy S6 Edge and the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus will also receive the same operating system upgrade.
If the claims are accurate, they’re signaling the first occasion on which a Samsung flagship handset has received three major operating system upgrades during its lifespan. Usually, the device maker implements a standard 24-month support period for many of its smartphone offerings. The Galaxy S6 was launched back in 2015 with Android 5.0.2 Lollipop pre-installed, although it was later upgraded to Android 6.0 Marshmallow in early 2016. Early last year, Samsung released another update that upgraded the handset’s operating system to Android 7.0 Nougat. If the Galaxy S6 does receive Android Oreo, users of the device will be able to take advantage of features like the Picture-in-Picture mode, improved app data usage management, and notification dots. The Picture-in-Picture mode allows users to view two applications simultaneously by showing one app in a smaller window on top of another one. The notification dots, on the other hand, alert the user about applications that have notifications waiting for them directly on the home screen.
