The American network operator, AT&T, is now rolling out an update to the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus that will upgrade the handsets’ operating system to Android 8.0 Oreo. The changelog of the software package only mentions that this update brings Android 8.0 Oreo and a number of other software enhancements to the devices. By upgrading the operating system of the handsets to Android 8.0 Oreo, users will now be able to take advantage of features like the Picture-in-Picture mode, the notification dots feature, and the autofill functionality. The Picture-in-Picture mode allows users to view two applications at the same time by showing one application in a smaller window on top of another app, while the autofill functionality remembers the usernames and passwords in an effort to reduce the time spent by the user in logging in to websites and apps. However, users will have to grant necessary permissions first before they could use the autofill functionality. Last but not the least, the notification dots feature informs the user on which applications have notifications directly on the home screen.
Even though it was not listed on the changelog, this software package also brings to the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus the upgraded version of the South Korean smartphone manufacturer’s proprietary skin, which is called the Samsung Experience 9.0 UI. Moreover, this update also brings the February 2018 Android security patch to the two handsets. This security patch brings fixes to a number of vulnerabilities, including the two critical security exploits discovered in the media framework of the operating system.
Before downloading the software package, it is important that the user first verifies if the internal flash storage of the smartphone has enough free space to temporarily keep the update file, which has a size of 1.55GB. Moreover, people should also backup the files and images stored in the handset to a personal computer or a microSD card to prevent the loss of important data. It may take several days before all the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus devices receive the update from the carrier, although users may also attempt to manually start the installation process by proceeding to the system update menu, which is located in the device settings.