On May 6, 2026, Samsung announced the rollout of the One UI 8.5 stable update for Galaxy devices. The software remained in Beta testing phase for over five months. Well, the second wave of rollout was crazy enough, spreading blazingly fast.

The day Samsung began One UI 8.5 stable rollout, plenty of Galaxy devices received the update. The availability in Wave 1 was limited to South Korea. However, the Wave 2 rollout covered millions of Galaxy devices on May 11, 2026.

As part of One UI 8.5, Samsung is bringing select AI features from the Galaxy S26 series across the Galaxy ecosystem. The update focuses on enhancing communication and creative experiences on Galaxy mobile phones and tablets.

These devices have received the Stable update first – Wave 1

• Galaxy S25, S25 Plus and S25 Ultra
• Galaxy S25 Edge
• Galaxy S25 FE
• Galaxy Z TriFold
• Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7
• Galaxy Z Flip7 FE

Major expansion started on May 11

Samsung devices that have received the update on May 6 in South Korea have received the OTA in the Global markets. The second phase of rollout has also begun in South Korea, before hitting the worldwide market.

The first wave targets flagship models released in 2025, including the Galaxy S25 series, Z7 series foldables, and the TriFold phone. The second wave aimed at the Galaxy S24 series and the Z6 series foldables in South Korea.

In its Global press release, Samsung confirmed that the update is gradually starting to arrive on the Galaxy S25 series, S25 FE, S24 series, S24 FE, Z Fold7 and Z Flip7, Z Fold6 and Z Flip6, Galaxy Tab S11 series, and Tab S10 series.

These devices have received the Stable update – Wave 2

• Galaxy S24, S24+ and S24 Ultra
• Galaxy S24 FE
• Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6
• Galaxy Z Fold SE

Wave 3 of One UI 8.5 update expansion

• Galaxy S23, S23+ and S23 Ultra
• Galaxy S23 FE
• Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5
• Galaxy A56 and A36
• Galaxy Tab S11 and Tab S11 Ultra

5th wave of One UI 8.5 expansion

Galaxy A Series

• Galaxy A17 and A07
• Galaxy A56, A36, A26, A16, and A06
• Galaxy A55, A35, A25, and A15
• Galaxy A54, A34, and A24

Galaxy M Series

• Galaxy M07, M17 and M17e
• Galaxy M56, M36, M16, and M06
• Galaxy M55, M55s, M35, and M15
• Galaxy M54

Galaxy F Series

• Galaxy F17 and F70e
• Galaxy F56, F16, and F06
• Galaxy F55 and F15
• Galaxy F54 and F34

Galaxy Tab S/A/XCover/Active Series

• Galaxy Tab S9 series
• Galaxy Tab S9 FE series
• Galaxy Tab S10 series
• Galaxy Tab S10 Lite
• Galaxy Tab S6 Lite
• Galaxy XCover 7 and XCover 7 Pro
• Galaxy XCover 5 Pro
• Galaxy Tab A11 and A11+
• Galaxy Tab A9+
• Galaxy Tab Active 5 and P5o

Updated on June 17, 2026.

Latest Samsung leaks reveal much more about the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 smartwatches, which are set to launch next month. Credible inputs shed light on the design of the wearables as well as the refined user interface.

Galaxy Watch 9 will look familiar, but the design refinements are worth welcoming. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is getting some incredible revisions that influence its overall appearance and fix the biggest flaw of the OG model.

Samsung has made the Ultra Watch boxier than the OG model. The smartwatch reportedly features Classic-like clock numbering. The bezels are going thinner, the side button area is improved, and the Quick button color has adopted an Orange outline.

Samsung would bring its smartwatches in three colors, including Black, Silver, and Beige. GalaxyTechie shared even more insights, including band colors and designs, which are as follows:

• Beige would be exclusive to the base variant.
• Black version would bring a Bluish band stapled.
• Silver variant would carry a Green band along.

Classic model, which is famous for the physical rotating bezel, isn’t coming this year.

On the software side, the software-sourced renders highlight the Sinus rhythm feature. Another picture spotlights the revamped icon for the Compass app.

Samsung is expected to hold the Galaxy Unpacked event in London. Korean media reports that the event could be held on July 22. The smartwatches will be unveiled alongside three foldable phones and potentially the smart glasses.

Galaxy Watch Ultra will bring steep battery life improvements. It’s reportedly getting a 34 percent bigger battery than the Apple Watch Ultra and 35 percent larger battery than the original Galaxy Watch Ultra released in 2024.

Samsung One UI has different ways to control the media playback, including from the live notifications and lock screen, but One UI 9.0 gave these go-to destinations 5 new changes to enhance the user experience.

The overhaul includes both graphical and interactive improvements, regardless of which app you use to play songs in the background. We’ve compared this new experience with a previous One UI version and found a couple of new details.

Home screen

Here, we delve into the live notifications, which give you easy access to the media player from the status bar. However, now this compact window has interesting playback graphics.

Notice how the music timeline has a new color spectrum waveform compared to a light and an accent color in the previous version. The album name and the artist are aligned in a single line.

This change has allowed the company to increase the song’s length, font, and timeline size. Additionally, the playback button has round background shapes that are subtle but easy to notice.

Lock screen

A more noticeable design shift will be found on the lock screen as soon as you expand the music now bar (which also contains the new colorful waveform).

The album art contains the title and the artists, which were previously displayed below the album. However, the following section no longer contains the background shape wrapping around music controls. Instead, they are giving away a different vibe thanks to the new button background and that colorful timeline wavelength.

What makes these new visuals interesting is the animation. When you play/pause a song or move to the next, the system will show smooth animations to make it look interactive.

One UI 9.0 Media Player

Conclusion

With One UI 9.0, Samsung is focusing on polishing the existing software design, and the new Music player is a welcome step for a better user experience.

Samsung Galaxy S26 users enrolled in the One UI 9 Beta Program are now looking forward to the next Beta build, Beta 4. Samsung pushed the third Beta update this week, providing 9 major improvements for better UX.

One UI 9 Beta 4 should further enhance the overall user experience. The company is expected to maintain a gap of around two weeks between Beta builds. That said, the next Beta isn’t probably coming next week, starting on June 22.

Samsung launched Beta Program on May 13 and released the first Beta. The company had also provided confirmation of Beta 2 release, which landed on May 26. Before Beta 3 rollout on June 16, Samsung confirmed its release date.

Similarly, Samsung users could receive a Members app notice, confirming the release date of One UI 9 Beta 4. This is the first Beta Program, which is seeing special attention from Samsung, from the communication angle.

One UI 9 Beta releases so far:

• Beta 1 – May 13
• Beta 2 – May 26
• Beta 3 – June 16
• Beta 4 – June 30 (expected)

Since Beta 3 arrived on June 16, Samsung should likely push the Beta 4 update on June 30. This is not a confirmed release date as software rollouts depend heavily on internal verification and tests by engineers.

You may like: Samsung One UI 9 Beta 3 brings important changes and fixes; check all

One UI 9 official launch

Samsung has confirmed that the One UI 9 will officially launch with the upcoming Galaxy Z series phones. Reports suggest that the company may hold its Summer Unpacked event on July 22, which would also be the software’s release date.

Well, the official One UI 9 rollout won’t immediately start after the debut. Samsung would then expand the Beta Program to even more models. Meanwhile, the internal testing has already started for around three dozen Galaxy devices.

• Samsung is testing One UI 9.0 (Android 17) for these 21 Galaxy devices

Samsung phased out the Galaxy S22 series (and some others) from a major software update rollout, and we hope the Galaxy S23 series won’t meet the same fate in 2027.

Galaxy S22, S22+, and S22 Ultra aren’t getting the One UI 8.5 update, and they will spend their remaining life on One UI 8.0. Both versions are based on Android 16, but the difference in QPR versions is the primary culprit.

Well, Samsung has provided One UI 8.5 to a $200 smartphone as well, so it doesn’t mean that one is better than the Galaxy S22 flagships in 2026.

Samsung Galaxy S23 shouldn’t be the next S22 in 2027

Samsung has already disappointed millions of users of the Galaxy S22 series. One UI 8.5 upgrade is bigger than the One UI 8.0, which would have elevated the user experience in multiple ways, not limited to the user interface.

The Galaxy S23 series is eligible for the Android 17-based One UI 9.0 upgrade. The Beta Program of this software is already live in 6 countries. Design-wise, the software has no major upgrades as the focus is on overall refinements.

The company is reportedly testing One UI 9 for Galaxy S23 series internally. A previous leak suggested that the Galaxy S27 series will launch with One UI 9.5. That said, the next x.5 software is slated for launch in 2027 as well.

Samsung may continue its strategy of basing One UI on Android QPR versions. If the 2026 method is retained in 2027, the One UI 9.0 will ship with Android 17 QPR1 atop, while One UI 9.5 could be based on the QPR2 version.

Like the S22 series become ineligible for the last One UI upgrade, Samsung shouldn’t do it for the S23 series in 2027. The 2023 flagships have an even larger consumer base than the 2022 models, and it will also be extremely upsetting.