Update files for the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus were recently posted by SamMobile to its firmware repositories before subsequently being removed after the discovery that the files were not going to work for the majority of that device’s users. It isn’t immediately clear why the files had to be pulled but it reportedly has something to do with the firmware itself having prevented it from being flashed properly. That means that users are going to have to either wait for the official update to hit their device over-the-air or for Samsung to implement a fix for the software so that it can be reposted on the site. Unfortunately, it also isn’t clear whether or not the inclusion of code that prevents firmware flashing is intentional or not.
In either case, the news is bound to come as a blow to users who don’t want to wait for official updates in order to get the latest software for their devices. That wait will almost certainly be made even more poignant following news that Samsung is not taking part in Google’s Project Treble – which ultimately means that users will most likely have to wait for firmware updates for a substantial portion of Samsung’s larger device updates. Moreover, the updates have been released with beta testers for the new firmware taking priority over the more general user-base. In fact, it has taken an average of one to two days between the start of the updates rolling out and when they begin to hit the average consumer. So, this new discovery may cause some discord among power users who prefer to update as quickly as possible via manual firmware installations.
The updates themselves began rolling out as early as February 8 in Germany, followed by a rollout getting started in India just days later. As mentioned above, it includes Samsung Experience 9, which is based on Android Oreo. Aside from general Android Oreo improvements, the update arrives with several enhancements. That starts with newly optimized and improved biometrics security, as well as improvements to Samsung’s keyboard, device search, Bixby Briefing, and Color Lens. User-facing Oreo changes include the addition of notification dots for icons, video picture-in-picture mode at the system level, new emojis, faster boot times, and improved password autofill.