Samsung’s One UI 8.5 update arrives in beta with these new features

Ben Schoon | Dec 8 2025 - 5:49 am PT

Samsung has just launched its One UI 8.5 update in beta after what feels like months of the next big Galaxy update leaking. The beta is available starting on the Galaxy S25 series, and Samsung’s announcement reveals a few features the leaks didn’t spoil.

One UI 8.5 is Samsung’s next major update for Galaxy devices, though it’s still based on Android 16 under the hood. While the “.5” naming scheme suggests this isn’t a big update, there’s actually quite a lot to unpack, even beyond Samsung’s own breakdown.

In a post on the Samsung Newsroom today, the company details three pillars of One UI 8.5, starting with “content creation” features. The first is a new upgrade to “Photo Assist,” which now allows users to edit photos with AI tools – such as eraser, “move,” or styles – continuously instead of saving a copy of the image after each AI edit.

Further, Quick Share can now recognize people in a photo and “proactively suggest sending them directly to those contacts” via the Google-Samsung Quick Share tool.

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Next up is “device connectivity,” where Samsung has made two more main updates. “Audio Broadcast,” Samsung’s UI for Auracast, now allows a Galaxy device to be used as a microphone and transmit that audio to nearby Bluetooth LE devices such as earbuds. Samsung suggests using this in “group situations like tours or events.” “Storage share,” meanwhile, expands access to your phone’s files on other Samsung devices such as Galaxy tablets or a TV.

Finally, Samsung is also upgrading theft protection features. “Failed Authentication Lock” now automatically locks the screen if there are too many failed attempts to verify identity through the use of a PIN or fingerprint. The use case here seems to be if someone stole an unlocked phone out of your hands, but failed to get into secure apps such as your banking app. After they’ve failed to access that app, the phone automatically locks the screen to prevent any further access.

Other notable changes in One UI 8.5 not detailed in Samsung’s announcement include a plethora of first-party app updates and new design tweaks that were clearly inspired by Apple’s Liquid Glass.

Samsung is launching One UI 8.5 first on the Galaxy S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra in beta. Users in Germany, India, Korea, Poland, the UK, and the US can sign up for access today through the Samsung Members app. The full rollout is expected to land sometime next year after the launch of the Galaxy S26 series.