One UI 9 will be my Galaxy S23's last update; I'm waiting to see if it's worth the pain

Published Oct 5, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT I am an author and features writer at Android Police. I primarily writes guides, how-tos, and roundups on the latest smartphone apps and features for Android Police since joining the team in early 2022. While my work often diversifies depending on the topic, you'll often find me writing about the newest entertainment or hidden utility Android apps or discussing my paranoia about digital privacy and poor smartphone practices. I will occasionally dabble in Samsung's latest features in One UI. On the games side, my area of expertise is in action RPGs and gacha games, but I will play and study the occasional competitive shooter. But most of all, my appetite for new stories still goes unquenched — as shown with my personal love for the Trails series. Before joining Android Police, I studied chemistry and graduated with an honors specialization in Chemistry in 2016, leading me to spend many hours toiling around the lab as an undergraduate. Eventually, all those hours spent at the lab led me to develop my analytical mindset. So now, if you give me a problem, I will relentlessly tackle it to find a solution. My favorite pastime as a student was always writing reports, presentations, tutorials, and literature reviews, which guided me into completing a graduate certificate in technical writing in 2019. Thanks to my current role with Android Police, I learned to appreciate user security and privacy, leading me into studying Cyber Security. My first Android phone was the Samsung Galaxy Note II in 2012, which gave me a taste of how a small piece of powerful hardware can open up endless opportunities for my favorite hobbies. Though if you ask about my purchasing regrets, I will always say missing out on the Google Nexus still stings to this very day. I've also been a gamer for over 20 years, starting with Super Mario Bros. on the NES. Thanks to those early influences, I now own over 15 devices for gaming, ranging from handhelds to consoles. Nowadays, you'll find me studying spreadsheets and assembling data to theorycraft new teams and builds for Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, Wuthering Waves, and Zenless Zone Zero. You'll also see me digging deeper to uncover the truth behind AI as a field: which part is actually useful, or it just a bunch of bloat being sold with your phone? No sane person would preserve their perfectly good old phone as a luxury souvenir. I am one of those people who kept my Samsung Galaxy S23 around, even though my Samsung Galaxy S25+ is my primary phone. I even considered giving it to a family friend at one point, but that didn't happen. Instead, I kept it around as an experiment since I like studying it and comparing it to my Galaxy S25+, including when a major One UI update releases. But since One UI 7 and One UI 8 didn't feel too great on my Galaxy S23, I am reluctant to update to One UI 9 on day one. One UI 9 is the Galaxy S23's last major update This time I am in no hurry to experience it I am so used to Samsung's generosity with its update promise: seven major upgrades with seven years of security, maybe slightly less depending on whether you're rocking a more budget phone. I nearly forgot that the Galaxy S23 missed the cutoff for Samsung's seven-major-OS-upgrade extension; it's dawned on me that this will be its final update. That doesn't bother me much because it isn't my daily driver, and I like to repurpose my old phones that are severely out of date. So I am in no hurry to explore One UI 9 on my device — I have my Galaxy S25+ for that, and I know that when I update my Galaxy S23 to One UI 9, that's the final version. However, that's not the real reason I am being patient. Since the One UI 7 update, my Galaxy S23 has felt like it was chugging along. My device was slow, Galaxy AI added too much bloat, and its battery kept draining like there was no tomorrow. I thought I was crazy, so when I asked my mom at the time — who also had the Galaxy S23 on One UI 7 — she had issues too, especially with the battery; hers would deplete during her work hours after a full charge. We thought it might be adaptive battery recalibrating, so we waited it out for the first month, and then decided we both needed to upgrade our phones. I was hesitant because I don't like feeling pressured to get a new phone after two years. I normally like to squeeze out four years if I can. But it turned out to be the best decision I made that year. The difference between my Galaxy S25+ and my Galaxy S23 was noticeable. Samsung's One UI approach is still AI-centric Though the less flashy features tend to be my favorite I can be up and down about what I want from AI and smart features; I am not exactly pro or against Galaxy AI. My opinion is that it has its uses and can improve underutilized older features. I don't like forcing them into my daily routine or workflow. Though it doesn't stop me from exploring new ones. For example, in One UI 9, Now Nudge interests me (it came with the Galaxy S26 series in One UI 8.5), mainly because of the way my brain works. Also, if you own a Pixel, it's similar to Pixel's Magic Cue feature. As such, I sometimes like context-aware suggestions that don't break my immersion while I am using an app or watching a video. Like recommending shortcuts or even doing a quick check on my calendar during a conversation about a particular event or meetup to ensure no scheduling conflicts. It's an agentic AI feature. While I am excited to see how useful this is in practice (for me personally), I wouldn't necessarily want to try it on my Galaxy S23 — and it seems Samsung doesn't either, since it isn't considered compatible. Another concern is how on-device AI processing works. I am pro on-device AI processing so I can protect my privacy, but it means I need a capable phone. The Galaxy S23 was never tailored for AI features the same way the Galaxy S24 series was when Galaxy AI launched on those phones. So I don't want to be in a position where I need to offload AI processing because I don't have the hardware, which is where I am with the Galaxy S23 because of its framework and chip. It isn't incapable, but its Neural Processing Unit (NPU) isn't as robust as the later Galaxy S series editions. I am already getting a bit of an incomplete package with what's to come on the Galaxy S23, compared to what I am getting with my Galaxy S25+. The less flashy features, like the security and accessibility updates, tend to excite me more — anything that eases my anxiety and my eyes is a huge plus. Even then, AI is still seeping into those features pretty handily — like in the AI privacy alerts. I either expect the Galaxy S23 to skip some of those features, or have them but not run as optimally as I'd like. That's partly why I prefer to wait it out and decide when I want to update my device. I am in no rush, and I don't need this three-year-old device to go through the same growing pains it did with One UI 7. Keep an eye out for One UI 9 The One UI 9 rollout began in mid-September. So it's just around the corner for supported, older flagships. While I am hesitant to download One UI 9 on my Galaxy S23 on day one, I am looking forward to the update on my Galaxy S25+ to explore new feature favorites.