Stable One UI 8.5 arrives with the new Galaxy S26 series

It’s a big day for Samsung. The Galaxy S26 series has finally been officially revealed alongside the Galaxy Buds 4 series, after months of leaks. But it’s also a big day for existing Samsung users, who can finally get a taste of Samsung’s new One UI 8.5 interface.

One UI 8.5 has been in beta since early December, and over these past months, we’ve seen five subsequent beta updates. Now, with the launch of the Galaxy S26 series, One UI 8.5 is stepping into the stable phase. While the Galaxy S26 phones get the new interface out of the box, older devices are also being prepared for the update. Among those, the Galaxy S25 series should be the first in line to get the new interface, as it was the only series eligible for the beta. Meanwhile, we await more details from Samsung for the rollout on other devices.

New features in One UI 8.5

One UI 8.5 brings a wealth of changes to eligible Galaxy phones and tablets. In addition to the ones we spotted in our One UI 8.5 beta hands-on, there are plenty of new exciting additions, and here’s a quick overview:

• Customizations: The Quick Settings menu gets better customization features, letting you separate and rotate the volume and brightness sliders.
• Notification improvements: The update brings iOS-style notification summaries and the ability to block or limit excessively spammy notifications.
• SIM Management: Folks with single-SIM variants of Galaxy phones should be able to choose between a physical SIM and an eSIM for calling and mobile data.
• AI photo editing: The feature lets you edit photos with text prompts, just like Help Me Edit in Google Photos.
• Storing stickers: Creative Studio is a new feature that lets you store all stickers created from photos and access them with your keyboard.
• Screenshot organization: Samsung’s Gallery app now sorts screenshots automatically into different folders, so it’s easier to find them.
• Now Brief and Now Bar improvements: Now Brief now shows tentative events even if they aren’t recorded in your calendar, while Now Bar offers more contextual recommendations.
• Now Nudge: This is a new feature similar to Pixel’s Magic Cue and offers suggestions for responses by pulling information from other apps.
• Bixby and other AI upgrades: In addition to a more conversational Bixby, One UI 8.5 also brings Perplexity for more complex tasks that require web searches or help you with tasks in system apps, such as Notes, Gallery, Reminders, etc.
• Finder: A new search shortcut sits right above pinned apps on the homescreen and lets you perform system-level searches using semantic terms.

Devices eligible for One UI 8.5

Based on Samsung’s previously promised number of updates, we can estimate which devices are likely to get the One UI 8.5 update. Here are all the Samsung flagships slated to get the One UI 8.5 update:

Galaxy S

• Galaxy S25, Plus, Edge, and Ultra
• Galaxy S24, Plus, FE, and Ultra
• Galaxy S23, Plus, FE, and Ultra

Galaxy Z

• Galaxy Z Fold 7, Z Flip 7, and Z Flip 7 FE
• Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6
• Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5

Galaxy Tab

• Galaxy Tab S11 and S11 Ultra
• Galaxy Tab S10, S10 Plus, S10 Ultra, S10 FE, and S10 Lite
• Galaxy Tab S9, S9 Plus, S9 Ultra, and S9 FE

Meanwhile, some devices have already reached the final Android version, i.e., Android 16, as promised. Since One UI 8.5 is also based on Android 16, we’ll have to wait for Samsung’s official confirmation regarding the following:

• Galaxy S22, Plus, and Ultra
• Galaxy S21 FE
• Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4
• Galaxy Tab S8, S8 Plus, and S8 Ultra

In addition to these, a host of other Galaxy A, F, and M series devices will get the One UI 8.5. We’ll share a detailed list once Samsung clarifies the rollout timeline.