Stable One UI 3.0 update rolling out for the Samsung Galaxy 20 series on Verizon

The Android 11-based One UI 3.0 update seems to have arrived a bit early on some Galaxy S20 units on Verizon. While the Galaxy S20 series was due to receive the update sometime in December according to the One UI 3.0 roadmap, this particular build may have arrived a tad too early.

It isn't the first time Samsung has jumped the gun by launching a major software update early. There have been several instances of One UI 2.0, One UI, and even Samsung Experience builds, making their way to smartphones earlier than expected. More often than not, these were unstable versions of the software intended for developers. One can only hope that the iteration of One UI 3.0 rolling out to Verizon users is stable and free from bugs.

Android 11 has bought a laundry list of improvements for Google Pixel and other Stock Android-based forks. Some of the perks include an in-build screen recorder (finally), a better screenshot capture tool, fine-tuned privacy controls, and several other behind the scenes improvements. However, most of these features have been on Samsung devices for a long time. One UI 3.0 is little more than a cosmetic refresh with a few new features added here and there. One of the more exciting Android 11 (and One UI 3.0) features is Project Mainline, which allows OEMs to deliver critical security updates over the Google Play Store.

What stands out about this particular One UI 3.0 update is that it is based on the October 2020 security patch. The December 2020 Android security patch isn't out officially yet, but OEMs usually have access to those a month in advance, so one can't help but wonder why Verizon stuck with an older version. Now that the update has arrived on Snapdragon-powered models of the Galaxy S20 series, it shouldn't be long before the Exynos variants get it.