Verizon’s Galaxy S20 models are the first to get Android 11 and One UI 3.0

Verizon revealed this morning that Samsung’s Galaxy S20 lineup will be the first Samsung phones to receive Android 11 and One UI 3.0 from Samsung in the US, and now the software has already started to reach customers, according to Droid life. One UI 3.0 has been in public beta for the past two months, but this marks the official release of the final software.

One UI 3.0 has the messaging, notifications and security features of Android 11, along with some specific One UI plugins. Samsung has added easier ways to access widgets, take screenshots, and double-tap the screen to put your phone to sleep, to name a few, but if you want a more comprehensive list of all One UI 3.0 changes, you can check this summary in Android Police.

Image: Samsung

Outside of the US, the international release of One UI 3.0 also appears to be on the rise. Android Police says Samsung sent out a full schedule of release dates to users in Egypt, with the S20 flagship receiving Android 11 and One UI 3.0 sometime in December, though after the US according to schedule, the The next phones to receive the update will be the Note 20, Z Fold, Note 10 and S10 phones in January 2021. It will take some time for the update to reach all Samsung phones that support it. Galaxy A10, A20 or A30S, don’t expect to see it before August.

When we reviewed Android 11 in September, we appreciated all of its additional features for managing the complexity of modern Android phones, but we did notice the possibility of fragmentation, as Google and Samsung’s versions of Android have started to diverge once again. Samsung was known for taking a long time to release updates, like when it took a full five months to ship Android Pie. But that has changed over the years as you’ve gotten better at managing your schedule. Last year’s Android 10 update took three months to hit the first phones, and that’s what we’re seeing with Android 11 this year as well.

Issues like fragmentation are important because Samsung is the largest smartphone provider globally and the largest producer of Android phones in the US That means the widespread adoption of new features is highly dependent on the company choosing to include them. in new versions of One UI. From our first preview, it seems that the most important bits of Android 11 have become One UI 3.0; But when it comes to Google’s other Android projects, Samsung may not have that much to gain.