Is Samsung Galaxy S21 series, Z Fold 3, & Z Flip 3 One UI 5.0 (Android 13) beta update on the cards? Here's what we know

Samsung recently opened up the One UI 5.0 beta program for Galaxy S22 users in the US, South Korea and Germany. Moreover, it’s likely that the beta will expand to other regions in the following days.

Last year, the Android 12-based One UI 4.0 beta program went live in mid-September, so it’s great to see Samsung delivering the One UI 5.0 beta based on Android 13 to the Galaxy S22 series a whole month ahead.

That said, it seems many Samsung Galaxy S21, Z Fold 3, and Z Flip 3 users are also curious about the availability of the One UI 5.0 beta update on their devices.

I’m genuinely surprised that the Flip and Fold series weren’t included in the initial beta launch. Companies need to start making these “premium” devices actually feel as such. (Source)

I have an unlocked Samsung fold 3 5g and was thought we would get our own beta testing. Anyone with the same phone yet see a beta open yet? (Source)

While there’s no official word on the availability of the One UI 5.0 beta update based on Android 13 for the Samsung Galaxy S21 series or the Z Fold 3 and Z Flip, we can dive into the past trends and information provided by a Samsung Care Ambassador to paint a picture.

First off, responding to multiple user queries, a Samsung Care Ambassador has been giving users hope (1, 2, 3) that the beta program may start soon for the S21 series.

This isn’t groundbreaking news since we did expect Samsung to open up beta testing to S21 users. However, the information is reassuring that S21 users won’t be left out.

Secondly, if we look at the rollout pattern from last year, the S20 models were inducted into the One UI 4.0 beta program roughly a month after the S21 models.

Therefore, if Samsung follows the same rollout schedule this time around as well, then we can expect the One UI 5.0 beta program to go live for the Galaxy S21 series in September.

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Galaxy Z Fold 3 should also bag the Android 13 beta with Samsung’s One UI 5.0 skin in the following days, if not on the same day.

Matter of fact, recent reports also indicate that the South Korean firm has begun testing the new update internally for the S21, as well as the S20.

So it should be safe to assume that it won’t be too long before the Galaxy S21 picks up the beta update.

Needless to say, this information should be taken with a grain of salt since nothing has been confirmed by Samsung.

The beta program may open up sooner than expected or even get delayed due to unforeseen reasons for these devices.

That said, we’ll keep track of the situation and will update our dedicated One UI 5.0 tracker with all details regarding the availability of the beta or stable update for all eligible Samsung phones.

Featured image source: Samsung Mobile Press

PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.