The Android 7.0 Nougat update that rolled out early to the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge handsets has apparently been halted in China and replaced with a beta.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge were rumored to start getting Android 7.0 Nougat on Jan. 17, but last week brought an unexpected surprise to some users.
More specifically, Samsung ended the beta testing and started pushing the final, official release of Android 7.0 Nougat to the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge last week. Only the handsets that were part of the beta program got the update at that point, which led to speculation that non-beta Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge units would get the update on Jan. 17, as previously rumored.
Samsung Galaxy S7 Nougat Update Pulled
While it seemed to make sense that Samsung would first push the official release to the handsets that went through the beta and expand its availability to all Galaxy S7 series devices shortly after, things seem to be a bit hazier now.
According to the latest reports out of China, it looks like Samsung pulled the update in the country and replaced with a new beta instead. This indicates that the update was not yet ready for final release after all, and the company decided to reopen the beta to iron out some more kinks.
The new beta release reportedly carries build number G9350ZCU2ZQA4 and it's currently rolling out to replace the previous update. The new beta is apparently rolling out to the Galaxy S7 edge in China and weighs in at 213.30 MB, which is pretty close to the official Nougat update that reached the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge last week.
New Galaxy S7 Beta To Crush More Bugs
TheAndroidSoul cites industry sources claiming that Samsung halted the official update rollout because there were bugs/ issues in the build. The publication also posted screenshots of the changelog for the new beta, but everything is written in Chinese so we'll need a translator to find out all the details.
So far, it seems the new release includes performance and stability improvements, as well as some new and improved power saving mode.
It remains unclear whether the purported bugs and issues plaguing the release are affecting only Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge units in China, but we haven't seen any other reports indicating that it's a global issue. If it were something major and widespread, Reddit and other community forums would surely be filled with user reports. On the other hand, if Samsung actually pulled the release it couldn't have been something minor either.
We'll keep you up to date as soon as we learn more about the matter and if other markets are affected by this as well. In the meantime, if you have a Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge and have received the Nougat update last week, drop by our comments section below and tell us how it fares. Similarly, if you get a new beta instead of the final release, let us know. Samsung has yet to issue any statement.
