Samsung is allegedly working to bring Android 8.0 (Oreo) to several more of its most popular devices, according to recent reports, including the Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, 2017 Galaxy A5, and the 2017 Galaxy A3. That list is also expected to expand to cover at least one tablet with the Galaxy Tab S3. The news shouldn’t come as too much of a shock but it bears repeating that, as is always the case with unnamed sources, it should be taken with a grain of salt. Having said that, it wouldn’t be surprising since Samsung has unleashed a steady stream of updates to its devices over the past several months both to bring new versions of Android and Samsung Experience to its devices and to bring security up to date – following a string of new vulnerabilities over that time frame. Moreover, the newly listed devices match up with those included in a purportedly leaked list covered back in November.
In the meantime, it isn’t immediately clear what new features the updates would bring with them in terms of new features. Android Oreo is predominantly an under-the-hood update that doesn’t bring many user-facing changes – with Google opting to instead focus on optimizations and enhancements to underlying software and security. Meanwhile, Samsung’s updated Android overlay can vary from device to device. Regardless, it should include any bug fixes that are still needed for the above-listed devices and, at very least, the core changes that Android 8.0 brought with it. That should include picture-in-picture mode, which allows videos to be moved into a smaller window – freeing the user to do other things while continuing to watch. It should also mean battery enhancements that prevent a given application from draining battery life in the background. The notification shade may or may not be updated, depending on what Samsung does with its own software for each of those devices.
As mentioned above, however, it is important to note that although these updates would seem to align with earlier leaks, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are going to happen. Furthermore, even if Samsung has now officially started working on the updates, that doesn’t mean that they’ll arrive anytime soon since getting an update certified and pushed out can take several months.