Android phones are technology’s best example of consumer choice. They all run the same basic operating system but you can choose from several different manufacturer’s handsets depending on your taste and budget. Whether it’s market leader Samsung, Google, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Motorola or others, Android gives you far more device selection than if you opt for an Apple iPhone.

But the rollout of the latest versions of Android is far from ideal. Every year, Google - which owns and builds Android - usually announces the latest version of the OS and ships it with its flagship Pixel phones. That hasn’t happened in 2024, with the Pixel 9 series being announced in August but shipping with Android 14, which came out in 2023 with the Pixel 8 phones.

It’s now October and we don’t have Android 15 on a Google Pixel yet. It means it’s an odd time for Android, with uncertain timelines about when phone fans will get their big upgrade.

Samsung is normally at the front of the queue. It sells the most Android phones globally and is a close partner of Google, so we expected Android 15 to be available on its newest Galaxy S24 devices before the end of the year.

But according to the latest reports, Samsung owners will have a lot longer to wait this time around. At the Samsung Developer Conference 2024, executives showcased One UI 7, Samsung’s take on Android 15, but announced it is “To be released next year with the new Galaxy”.

You can watch the announcement below.

That confirms that the expected Samsung Galaxy S25 series will be the first Samsung smartphones to run Android 15. Rumour has it they will be launched in January or February 2025. We expect One UI to then gradually roll out to other Samsung phones.

If you can’t wait and want to try One UI 7 sooner than that, you’ll have to sign your phone up to the One UI 7 beta. This is when software is available before the official launch, but you can expect there to be bugs present, so you should think twice before putting it on your main personal phone in case things break.

It isn’t even confirmed when Pixel phones will be getting Android 15, but it could be later this month. Google often announces its main Pixel phones in October, but brought the launch forward to August this year. That means the software side of things could still be on track for an October release.

Samsung’s version of Android, as with all Android manufacturers, will be different to Google’s. The underlying software is the same but firms put their own visual take on things to differentiate themselves for customers.

Android 15 isn’t expected to be a significant update over Android 14, but will bring satellite connectivity to future devices for offline messaging, new screen sharing options, better camera controls in apps, changes to notification settings and Auracast, which will let you share audio via Bluetooth to nearby devices.