The latest version of Google's popular mobile operating system, Android 7.0 Nougat, officially arrived on August 22. But as is the case with Android, unless you have a Nexus device, a fair bit of patience is required. The wait is almost over for Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge owners, with the company officially launching its beta program ahead of the full rollout.

The beta program is open to users in the U.S. as well as the U.K., South Korea, and soon China on a first-come first-serve basis, though sign ups are reportedly limited. Users can apply using the Galaxy Beta Program app from the Galaxy Apps Store, or the Samsung Members app which is available through the Google Play store.

"Throughout the Galaxy Beta Program period, users can get a feel for Android 7.0 Nougat with Samsung's latest UX, and can provide feedback on performance, reliability and usability," Samsung wrote in a blog post. The company hasn't yet said when the Android 7.0 Nougat update will be available to all Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge owners.

So far only a handful of new smartphones have been confirmed to ship with Android Nougat, including the LG V20, the Huawei Mate 9 and Google's own Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones.

LG also started delivering Android 7.0 to owners of its modular G5 handset but only in South Korea. Despite being out for nearly three months, Nougat has been installed on just 0.3 percent of active Android smartphones and tablets.