UPDATE: Galaxy S8 Android Oreo Beta Program NOW LIVE

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ Android Oreo beta program is now live, meaning you can get early access to Android Oreo for your handset right now.

It is NOT open to all Galaxy S8 users, however; only T-Mobile and Sprint and unlocked handsets in the US, and unlocked models in the UK.

If you’re one of the above, you can sign up for access to the program by clicking here.

The Android Oreo update is pretty sizeable too at 1.4GB, so be sure you have enough room on your handset. As always: this is a beta version of Android Oreo, so it’s not final and could, therefore, feature plenty of bugs and quirks.

Why Samsung still cannot get updates out in a quicker manner remains a mystery. The company is enormous, so it stands to reason that it could, if it were a priority, get updates out more or less in a similar fashion to Google should it choose to.

This is the main reason I have always used Nexus/Pixel phones; I don’t like waiting for updates. It is also one of the main reasons why people stay with iPhones for so long – they get ongoing, constant, and consistent support.

You can read our original article about the beta program from the 31st below the break. 

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Samsung is the biggest Android phone maker on the planet. But it still sucks pretty bad at Android updates. Galaxy S7 users had to wait longer than anyone else for Nougat, and this, combined with the Note 7 debacle, wasn’t great PR for Samsung.

For this reason, Samsung is now in the process of setting up a beta testing program, whereby Samsung phone users can test-drive incoming updates. Apple and Google do similar programs, so Samsung opting to do the same is a pretty big deal.

Word on the street suggests this Android Beta Test Program, which will start with Oreo, could launch at any point inside the next week. Some reports even claim it will launch today – October 31.

The Samsung Android Beta Program will be available in the UK, US, and Europe, apparently, as well as the company’s native Korea. The second wave of the program will come later to China, France, Germany, India, Poland, and Spain.

HOWEVER – entry into this new beta testing program will be done on a first come first served basis, implying there will not be room for everybody.

For this reason, you’ll want to subscribe as soon as the program launches so as to ensure you secure yourself a place at the table.

Once the beta program is official and punters are testing Oreo on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, it shouldn’t be too long before Samsung rolls out the gold standard version of the update.

We’ll update this article as soon as we hear more about the program going live.