Samsung One UI 8.5 includes new support for professional camera accessories

Samsung just took home our Reader’s Choice award for the best phone of 2025 with the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but will it be able to repeat that success next year? Even with Samsung’s launches still a couple months away, some of us have already been souring on the idea of the Galaxy S26 lineup, worried that Samsung’s gotten too complacent, and isn’t doing enough to keep things feeling fresh. Those concerns extend to the phones’ cameras, but even if we don’t get a big upgrade to camera hardware, we’re still spotting a few improvements on the horizon for Samsung’s camera software.

This one’s definitely a bit more special-interest than most of the features we uncovered in development for smartphone cameras, but it’s noteworthy for the extent to which Samsung feels like it’s explicitly looking to appeal to professional photographers, possibly looking to raise the profile of the Galaxy name in such circles.

Looking into the changes present with Samsung’s Camera assistant app in One UI 8.5, we’ve identified some code strings describing new hardware support.

In case you’re not immediately familiar with that brand, TILTA manufactures camera mounts and lens-control accessories. And based on the  the description we have here, it appears that Samsung is preparing to support TILTA hardware on Samsung Galaxy phones.

While that won’t necessarily have to be the S26 series, that sure looks to be where this support could debut. Presumably, this kind of compatibility would allow professional photographers using TILTA equipment to integrate Samsung phones into their shooting workflow, using the same precision remote gear they employ to pull the focus on high-end cameras to remotely control the phone’s focus, as well.

Unless you feel like going out and picking up some expensive new hardware, this news probably isn’t for you. But we know there are also those of you out there who are already carrying around a bunch of this kit, and maybe the idea of being able to use some of it to also control filming with your phone sounds like a handy upgrade that could be coming your way soon.