• Samsung is rolling out the first One UI 9 beta
• This is the company's version of Android 17
• It's initially coming to the Galaxy S26 series, and includes improvements to Samsung Notes, Contacts, the Quick Panel, security, and accessibility

Samsung has only just started widely rolling out One UI 8.5, but already there’s now a beta version of One UI 9, which you’ll be able to grab if you have a Samsung Galaxy S26, Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus, or Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.

This beta is built on Google’s upcoming Android 17 operating system update, and the first beta includes upgrades for five apps and features, including Samsung Notes, which is getting a wider variety of pen line styles, plus decorative tapes.

The Contacts app is also getting an upgrade, with this now offering direct access to Creative Studio, so you can create personalized profile cards without switching apps.

The Quick Panel is now more customizable, too, as you can now independently adjust the brightness, sound, and media player panels, complete with more size options to choose from.

Security and accessibility improvements

There are also security improvements with One UI 9, as if a high-risk app is detected, you’ll be warned about it and it will be blocked from being installed or opened.

Finally, One UI 9 also includes some accessibility improvements, such as an adjustable Mouse Key speed that enables smoother cursor control, a new Text Spotlight feature, which can display selected text larger or more clearly in a floating window, and a combined TalkBack package, which packages up various accessibility features that were previously offered separately by Samsung and Google.

If you’d like to give the beta a spin, you can join the beta program via the Samsung Members app. The beta may not be available to you quite yet, though, with Samsung simply saying that its rollout starts this week for countries including the US, UK, Germany, India, South Korea, and Poland. So, keep an eye out for it if you have a Galaxy S26 series phone.

And for a look at the latest Android 17 features, check out our roundup of the best Android 17 features announced at Google's Android Show event.

Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.