After months of beta testing, One UI 8.5 has begun rolling out to Samsung Galaxy S25 phones in the United States, bringing the 2024 flagship lineup up to speed with the features that debuted on the Galaxy S26 (via Android Authority).
The update delivers a significant package of previously S26-exclusive features to S25 owners, including Agentic AI through Bixby, a series of visual changes, and an enhanced Quick Share app. Perhaps just as notable: the rapid arrival on S25 hardware – only a week after the update launched in Samsung’s home market of South Korea – suggests other eligible devices in the first rollout wave may not be far behind.
One UI 8.5 is a long-awaited upgrade for a wide range of Samsung phones
Beyond the Galaxy S25 family (which includes the upcoming S25 FE), Samsung has confirmed the following devices are part of the first phase of the One UI 8.5 rollout:
- Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, S24 Ultra, and S24 FE
- Galaxy Z Fold 7, Flip 7
- Galaxy Z Fold 6, Flip 6
- Galaxy Tab S11, Tab S11 Ultra
- Galaxy Tab S10, Tab S10 Plus, Tab S10 Ultra
Owners of those devices should watch for notifications over the coming days, as the update is likely to follow shortly.
On the technical side, the update weighs in at 4,408.31 MB and also bundles the April security patch – a little late, but the sheer volume of additions makes that easy to overlook.
The One UI 8.5 excitement has been building for a while, and the end result justifies it. Despite not being a full version number bump, this update delivers what One UI 8 arguably should have been at launch. The headlining addition is Agentic AI, which finally brings AI-powered call screening to Samsung’s phones alongside the ability to edit images through text prompts and expanded AI Select functionality.
Bixby also makes a meaningful return, now powered by Perplexity – a significant upgrade that makes Samsung’s long-running assistant considerably more capable than any previous iteration. The overhauled Quick Share app rounds out the major additions.
One UI 8.5 has been a long time coming for anyone outside the S26 range, and with the rollout now picking up pace, it won’t be long before a much broader set of Samsung devices gets to experience it firsthand.
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Robert Haba is the founder and editor-in-chief of Droid Tools. A lifelong gadget enthusiast with over a decade following the Android ecosystem, he built this publication to cut through the noise and give readers honest, real-world coverage of the tech they actually use.
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