The South Korean tech giant, Samsung, has been facing criticism for its slow software update rollout, with many devices still waiting for the One UI 7 update, which is currently in beta. However, it appears that the company is working on its next major software update, One UI 8, which could potentially arrive sooner than expected.

Recently, the build number for the Galaxy S25 series based on One UI 8 was spotted on servers. As the development of Android 16 progresses, it’s likely that Galaxy devices will also receive third-party widget access on the lock screen with the next One UI update.

Currently, Samsung only allows first-party apps to have widget access on the lock screen. However, if the company follows Google’s lead, we can expect to see third-party app widgets on the lock screen of eligible Galaxy devices soon.

In a recent announcement, Google stated that Android 16 QPR1 will allow users to add widgets to their lock screen on Pixel devices. Furthermore, the company has revealed that this feature will be made available to other smartphone manufacturers through the Android open-source project.

Regarding the availability of One UI 8, it’s expected to arrive earlier than usual, possibly coinciding with the stable release of Android 16. It’s also possible that Samsung may skip One UI 7.1 and One UI 7.1.1 and directly jump to One UI 8.

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