Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ users will now get to know what it feels like to use the latest Android Oreo features thanks to the Samsung Experiene 9.0 beta. This was announced on Thursday by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

The new Samsung Experience replaces the TouchWiz and brings in Android Oreo which has been modified slightly in some cases by the company themselves. Android Oreo has long been available to other devices like Pixel and Nexus way back in August. The ability to test Android Oreo will only be available to some selected Galaxy S8 and S8+ owners within the U.S., U.K., as well as South Korea. As of now there hasn’t been any indication from Samsung as to when Android Oreo will be available to Note8, its latest flagship.

Samsung Experience 8.5 was released along with the Note8. On the other hand, there the upcoming Galaxy S9, which will be sporting Samsung Experience 9.0 will be out come February 2018 before the Mobile World congress.

So if you are one of the U.S. residents interested in signing up for the Samsung Experience 9.0 beta, you should have a Galaxy S8 or S8+ using Sprint or T-Mobile network carriers or have an unlocked version. As for U.K. users, you will have to have an unlocked device as well.

How can you enroll to the Samsung Experience 9.0 beta?

You will have to download the Samsung+ app from the Galaxy apps or from the Google Play Store if you are a Galaxy S8 or S8+ owner in the U.S., U.K., or from South Korea. And you must meet the requirements stated above regarding the unlocked devices and carrier restrictions.

Take note that this is still a beta version and as expected, there will be some bugs so before you install the beta, it would be better if you create some back up for your device.

• Open the Samsung+ app after you have downloaded and installed it.
• Look for the Registration menu where you should find the Galaxy Beta Program and then select the “register for the program”.
• Under the Settings menu, look for firmware updates.

After the installation has completed, you should be running the Android Oreo beta build on your Galaxy S8 or S8+ device.

What are the features of Samsun Experience 9.0?

The press release made by Samsung lacks details as to what users should expect from the Samsung Experience 9.0 beta but there are emerging details from the beta testers.

According to these beta testers, Samsung Experience 9.0 beta includes the Android Oreo-only features which have gotten some slight changes from the company – one of which are the notification badges or dots that displays the number of notifications in a small circle located at the corner of the app icon which is displayed with the color of the badge matching the colors of the app icon. Obviously, the notification badges on app icons are in synced with the notification panel. Aside from that, there are also some limitations of apps that are running in the background as well as app shortcuts that displays notifications.

Moreover, the Samsung Experience 9.0 beta includes Android Oreo’s notification channels, allowing users to separate notifications into channels and allocate specific alerts to a particular channel. However, Samsung have modified its functionality a tad bit. In addition, the icons will also show at the bottom of the notification panel for apps which have invisible notifications.

Samsung also brings some Gboard features such as the ability to search and send GIFs to its very own Samsung keyboard. While some of the other Samsung Experience 9.0 beta features are specific only to Samsung – for instance, the ability to use touch and hold to change the Edge Panel’s trigger position and improvements to DeX’s user interface. In addition, it also has been reported that the beta has improved when it comes its performance and speed.