How many software updates will Galaxy Z Fold 7 get?

Samsung announced its thinnest foldable smartphone ever, the Galaxy Z Fold 7, during the Galaxy Unpacked event today. It runs the company's newest software, One UI 8.0. Besides new features, it also gets several big-screen optimizations for apps, including Gemini. But, how many software updates will it get?

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 runs Android 16-based One UI 8.0 software out of the box. It is the world's first phone to run Android 16 out of the box. Samsung has promised to support it with seven generations of OS updates and security patches for seven years. It means the phone will get Android updates up to Android 23.

Usually, a major new version of One UI debuts with Samsung's Galaxy S series phones. However, this year, the South Korean firm has flipped the script and launched One UI 8 with the Galaxy Z Flip 7, Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE, and the Galaxy Z Fold 7. A minor One UI update could arrive with the Galaxy S26 series early next year in the form of One UI 8.1 or One UI 8.5.

One UI 8.0 brings several new and improved features, including Photo Assist that can automatically suggest things to erase from images. Thanks the Galaxy Z Fold 7's big screen, you can see before and after versions of an image you edited using the built-in photo editor. It also brings Audio Eraser to call transcripts, voice recordings in Voice Recorder and Samsung Notes, and the video player.

On the Galaxy Z Fold 7's big inner screen, you can read articles on the web on one half of the screen and its summary on the second half. This feature works on Samsung Internet via the Browsing Assist feature. Gemini's pop-up window can be moved across the big screen using its app handle at the top. The Gemini app displays a dual-pane UI in which the pane on the left displays previous chat threads.

Voice transcripts in Phone and Voice Recorder apps also appear on one side of the screen, while the other displays the actual call and voice recordings. You can also drag and drop AI-generated images from Galaxy AI to other apps like Samsung Notes, thanks to the expansive side-by-side multitasking UI on the phone's big screen.