What you need to know
- The Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Flip 5 are beginning to receive a minimal One UI 6 Beta 5, which only seems to impact its software stability.
- The November 2023 security patch is involved, and it appears that widget animations have also returned.
- It’s unclear how much longer the latest wave of foldable owners will have to endure the beta after the Galaxy S23 series received a stable variant last week.
Samsung’s latest wave of foldables is receiving yet another Android 14 beta in the first full week of November.
As shown on one of SamMobile’s devices, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Fold 5 have started receiving One UI 6 Beta 5. Eligible users who have enrolled should begin finding firmware version ZWK5 at some point today and, if not, throughout the rest of the week.
There’s not much to dissect about this follow-up beta build. Those involved will have the latest November 2023 security patch, which is to be expected. Samsung’s provided changelog for Beta 5 is also extremely minimal, with the company only stating the update includes “Improved overall SW stability.”
But if it’s new things we’re looking for, Tarun Vats on X states widget animations have supposedly returned through Beta 5.
The Korean OEM’s rollout of Beta 4 on the latest foldables featured a similar short changelog that didn’t expand much aside from “improved stability.” One UI 6 Beta 3 was the most recent one (in the past few weeks) that featured fixes for errors and issues with aspects of the Flip 5 and Fold 5.
As always, your device should download the update automatically, but you can manually check and initiate it by heading into your Settings > Software update > Download and Install.
It’s unclear how much longer Samsung will continue to push its One UI 6 (Android 14) beta for its current-gen foldables. The company rolled out a stable version of the OS to its early 2023 release of the Galaxy S23 series just last week. Those who were going from Android 13 to 14 faced a chunky 3GB download before those newer goodies were available.
Moreover, that same update brought a slew of camera adjustments, courtesy of Samsung’s AI software. A refreshed camera UI, updates to the Enhance-X app, Clean Lens, Motion Flow, and more. Of course, these are also updates other devices can likely expect to slide in once One UI 6 arrives in full to the masses.
However, as SamMobile notes, the Korean brand has seemingly started to slow down its rollout cadence of the new software for the Galaxy S23 series. The exact reason is unknown, but if Samsung has run into some small (but meaningful) problems, those with other devices might have to sit through the beta a while longer.
Bigger really is better
Samsung’s latest Galaxy Z Flip 5 features a cover screen that’s not only larger but lets users do so much more without opening their phone. From checking emails and texts to taking selfies, it’s got your back. Opening the Flip 5 up is a marvelous experience, too, as it features a 6.7-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth gaming, streaming, and scrolling.