Samsung is reportedly working on an Android 16-based One UI 8.5 version. This mid-cycle update is shaping up to be a game-changer, reportedly launching with the Galaxy S26 series and skipping the usual One UI 7.1 and 7.1.1 updates.

Samsung One UI 8.5

Let’s dive into everything we know so far—release timeline, devices that’ll get it, cool new features, and the hottest news straight from the rumor mill.

Release Date

Samsung’s keeping quiet on an official release date for One UI 8.5, but the rumor mill is churning. Based on leaks and rumors, I’m betting we will see it debut alongside the Galaxy S26 series in early 2026, probably in January or February.

For older Galaxy devices, the rollout might kick off a month or two later, maybe March 2026. Samsung’s been stepping up its update game lately as One UI 8 Beta is already rolling out to devices like the Galaxy S25 series.

Eligible Devices

Since One UI 8, also based on Android 16, is set to hit foldables like the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 in summer 2025, One UI 8.5 feels like a refined follow-up. I’m excited to see how fast Samsung pushes this one out!

Here’s a projected list of devices expected to receive One UI 8.5, based on current leaks and Samsung’s update commitments:

Galaxy S Series:

• Galaxy S25, S25+, S25 Ultra, S25 Edge, S24, S24+, S24 Ultra, S24 FE, S23, S23+, S23 Ultra, S23 FE, S22, S22+, S22 Ultra, S21 FE, S22, S22+, S22 Ultra

Galaxy Z Series:

• Galaxy Z Fold 7, Z Flip 7, Z Fold 6, Z Flip 6, Z Fold 5, Z Flip 5, Z Fold 4, Z Flip 4

Galaxy Tab Series:

• Galaxy Tab S10 Plus, Tab S10 Ultra, Tab S9, Tab S9+, Tab S9 Ultra.

Galaxy A Series:

• Galaxy A56, A55, A36, A35, and plenty of other Galaxy A phones.

Source – Samsung

Features

Here’s what’s floating around in the rumor mill:

Design language:

After the July Unpacked, Samsung’s Yang stated that Samsung will “continue to align the GUI (Graphic User Interface) with the underlying style of the product for future releases, too.” Although Yang’s statement didn’t mention One UI 8.5 or the Galaxy S26 series, design deployment is indeed planned for these two upcoming products.

Galaxy AI:

One UI 8 is bringing AI goodies, and One UI 8.5 might take it up a notch, especially for the S26 series with its modern Exynos and Snapdragon chips. I’m hoping for smarter photo editing and AI-powered functionalities so iPhones may feel outdated.

Customization:

Android 16 is all about flexibility wth Material 3 Expressive, and Samsung might lean into that with new lock screen widgets, slicker themes, or better ways to tweak your home screen. I’m hungry for personalization features, so this one has got me excited.

Smoother Vibes:

One UI 8 already feels snappy even in Beta, with smoother animations. Early Geekbench scores for Galaxy devices running One UI 8 are promising, and One UI 8.5 could make your phone feel like new; fingers crossed for zero lag!

Foldable-optimized UI:

With the Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 launching on One UI 8, I’m betting the One UI 8.5 will fine-tune multitasking for foldables. An earlier leak mentioned a bigger cover display on the Z Flip 7, so maybe we will see UI tweaks to make it shine.

Security Boosts:

Google’s Android 16 update has got cool stuff like post-theft lockdown, and Samsung is likely to double down with its own Knox-powered features. Privacy is a big deal, and I’m curious to see what the Galaxy maker adds here.

The One UI 8 beta testing is still underway, and in the middle of the test phase, Samsung has removed some of its unique highlighted features, which kept us excited.

Test software version ZYG5 has appeared on Samsung’s software server and has removed some essential features that are expected to be its key highlights. Tipster @tarunvats33 has spotted that this version lacks an adaptive lock screen clock. The Now Brief notifications with read aloud, call captions, and audio eraser integration in the Gallery app are also gone.

We’ve seen some of these features with the Galaxy Z Fold 7/Flip 7 launch last week. Meanwhile, the public One UI 8 beta testers don’t have these removed features.

Samsung launched the One UI 8 beta program in late May and pushed three beta OTA updates to date. It packs new upgrades for animations, fluency, and additions to the existing features to improve the user experience.

One UI 8 (Source – Samsung)

A separate video comparison from Sammobile shows that this information is correct and Samsung has removed the above-mentioned features from the latest server build. However, the adaptive clock was still available in their One UI 8 beta.

Furthermore, a server build spotted for the Galaxy S24 series suggests that these removed features are also coming for last year’s flagship, while specific information remains unknown.

Amid these ups and downs, users are waiting for the One UI 8 rollout, but it appears that Samsung is facing some problems with beta software development. Fortunately, these additions and removals are part of the testing phase, and we can expect the phone maker to bring them with a stable release.

Still, these features were working fine in the previous software, and it’s hard to explain by Samsung chose to kill them off.

You should know that these changes have appeared in the build uploaded on the Samsung server; to reiterate, these aren’t available to public users and weren’t there in the past three beta updates.

If you are using a Samsung Galaxy phone with One UI 8 and can’t find the popular Edge Lighting style notification feature, don’t worry, it hasn’t been removed. With the One UI 8 update, Samsung has introduced several changes to improve the user experience, and one of those changes is renaming the Edge Lighting style feature.

Samsung has renamed the Edge Lighting style feature to Light Notification Effect with One UI 8. This change aims to make the feature more accessible and easier to understand for users.

The decision to rename the popular notification feature might be due to the existence of a Good Lock module named Edge Lighting+, and Samsung likely wanted to avoid confusion between the two features.

Edge Lighting was a feature that showed glowing lights around the edges of the phone’s screen when you got a notification. It was a great way to see calls, messages, or alerts without unlocking your phone. The lights could be customized with different colors and styles, which makes notifications more fun and personal.

The newly named Light Notification Effect retains all the core functionalities of Edge Lighting. It continues to offer the same eye-catching visual alerts for calls, messages, and app notifications.

How to Enable Light Notification Effect in One UI 8:

The process of enabling the Light Notification Effect is similar to the Edge Lighting style, as Samsung just renamed the functionality. To use the feature, you just need to follow a few easy steps:

• Go to Settings and tap on Notifications.
• Select Notification Pop-up Style.
• Tap Add Light Notification Effect.
• Choose your preferred visual effect and tap Done.

This renamed feature ensures users can still enjoy vibrant and dynamic notifications, but with a name that better reflects its functionality. So, if you’re missing Edge Lighting in One UI 8, look for Light Notification Effect. It’s the same great feature with a refreshed identity.

Samsung is working on bringing One UI 8, based on Android 16, to more Galaxy devices. Right now, only Galaxy S25 users can try the new features through the beta program, and only Samsung’s latest foldable phones have arrived with the stable version. However, Samsung is also testing One UI 8 internally on many other devices, including the Galaxy S23 FE.

Now, the performance of the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE running One UI 8 appeared online through a Geekbench test. This gives us a first look at how the phone performs with the upcoming software.

The test results are from the European version of the phone (model number S711B). On Geekbench, the Galaxy S23 FE scored 1319 points in the single-core test and 3559 points in the multi-core test.

These scores show that the phone is running well on One UI 8, even though it’s still an early version. The final software could perform even better once it’s fully optimized.

Image via Alfaturk

When compared to the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the S23 FE scored a bit lower. But the results are still good and show decent performance overall.

Besides the Galaxy S23 FE, other phones like the Galaxy S24 series, S23 series, S22 series, Galaxy Z Flip 6, Fold 6, Flip 5, Fold 5, Galaxy A56, A36, and more are also testing One UI 8 internally.

Samsung hasn’t officially shared the update schedule for One UI 8 yet, even though the stable version is already out with latest foldables. It’s expected that Samsung will announce the rollout plan soon. Stay tuned for more inforamtion as Samsung prepares to release One UI 8 to more devices.

Samsung continues to establish an effortless One UI 8 ecosystem before the update’s expansion begins. In the latest development, Samsung has updated 7 apps that offer access to hidden features with One UI 8 compatibility.

Among the 7 Samsung apps that are gaining One UI 8 support, one is EdgeTouch from Good Lock, while the other six are plugins of Good Guardians. Recently, Samsung updated the main Good Guardians with support for the new OS.

Good Lock is pretty famous among Galaxy users because of its powerful customization capabilities and experimental features from core Android. Good Guardians include 6 plugins that help you make the most out of your smartphone.

Here are the details:

Good Lock Apps

1. 1. EdgeTouch 1.3.16

Galaxy users use Good Lock’s Edge Touch to personalize the edge areas of their phone’s screen, preventing accidental touches and enabling gesture-based actions.

Good Guardians

1. 1. Battery Tracker 8.0.07
   2. Battery Guardian 8.0.07
   3. Memory Guardian 8.0.07
   4. Media File Guardian 8.0.09
   5. Galaxy App Booster 8.0.05
   6. Thermal Guardian 8.0.07

Samsung’s Battery Tracker and Battery Guardian plugins are related to core battery tools, such as showing optimized usage stats and tracking power-hungry apps and services.

Memory Guardian and Media File Guardian are related to your phone’s storage. These modules display storage occupied across apps, as well as cleaning memory by deleting useless hidden files.

Galaxy App Booster is built to transfer an app’s executable assets for performance improvement. Thermal Guardian ensures the device stays cool by letting you know of source of activities causing overheating.

With One UI 8 support, these apps are now ready to function seamlessly on the new OS. It will ensure the Galaxy users won’t miss out on any existing perks like crashing and lagging after the One UI 8 rollout begins for older models.

Good Lock is officially available worldwide as a single app, which consists of over a dozen plugins. Meanwhile, you may find it difficult to have Good Guardians, as this is a more experimental feature suite with limited availability.

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