Code doesn’t lie, but it also doesn’t explain itself. Buried inside the One UI 9 beta 7 files, researchers found references pointing to Scam Detection rolling out to a range of Samsung Galaxy devices, well beyond the Galaxy S26 series that already has it. According to Android Headlines, those strings suggest the Galaxy S27, Galaxy S25 series, Galaxy Z Fold 7, Galaxy Z Flip 7, and even the Galaxy Z TriFold are all in line for the feature. Neither Google nor Samsung has confirmed any of this officially, so treat it as a strong signal rather than a done deal.
Scam Detection works by using on-device AI to listen for patterns in phone calls and flag messages that look like scam attempts, stopping them before they reach you. It’s been available on Pixel 9, Pixel 10, and Pixel 11 series phones, and Google pushed it to the Galaxy S26 earlier this year alongside some improvements to how it handles scam filtering inside Google Messages. The idea is straightforward: catch the bad actors before they catch you.
And scam calls are genuinely a serious problem. The FTC consistently reports billions of dollars lost to phone fraud each year, and the people most targeted are often the least equipped to recognize sophisticated impersonation attempts. So the instinct to expand this tool is reasonable. Broad availability could help a lot of people who currently have no automated protection at all.
But here’s what the press releases don’t dwell on. A feature that continuously analyzes your phone calls using AI requires audio processing, even if it claims to do it locally. Google has said Scam Detection processes audio on-device rather than sending it to the cloud, which is the right approach. Still, “on-device” is not the same as “zero risk.” It means you’re trusting that the implementation is exactly what the company describes, with no logging, no data collection, and no future policy change that quietly broadens what gets retained.
One UI 9 is already live on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Flip 8. For older devices in the list, the stable One UI 9 release is likely when Scam Detection would actually appear, assuming the rollout goes ahead. There’s no pricing here since this is a software feature, but it would come as part of the standard system update for supported devices.
The devices reportedly in line for the feature include:
- Samsung Galaxy S27 series
- Samsung Galaxy S25 series
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7
- Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold
The bigger picture here is that AI-powered call and message screening is becoming a standard expectation on Android flagships, not an optional extra. That’s a meaningful shift. Two years ago this kind of tool barely existed outside of carrier-level spam filters. Now it’s woven into the operating system, co-developed by Google and hardware partners, and spreading across device generations.
That’s progress, but it also means more of your communication is being actively analyzed by software, even with good intentions behind it. Users should know exactly what data is processed, where it stays, and what happens to it if Samsung or Google updates their privacy terms. Those are reasonable questions. The companies involved should answer them clearly, not just in footnotes inside a 40-page privacy policy.
Wanting scam protection and wanting privacy aren’t mutually exclusive. The best version of this feature delivers both. Whether that’s what’s actually being built remains to be seen.