After months of beta testing and a longer wait than many expected, Samsung’s One UI 8.5 stable rollout finally has a confirmed launch date. Samsung hasn’t officially published an eligible devices list, but based on the beta program’s reach and how past major releases have played out, every Galaxy device that received One UI 8.0 is expected to be covered.
Samsung’s point-five updates have historically been modest affairs – incremental patches targeting flagship Z and S series handsets. One UI 8.5 breaks from that tradition in a meaningful way. The rollout stretches down to Galaxy A, M, and F budget devices, which signals that Samsung is using this update to push Android 16 across its full portfolio instead of saving it for a major version increment. That strategic shift explains why the eligible device list this time around is notably longer than usual.
The visual changes are the first thing users will notice. Ambient Design brings blur effects to system UI elements and refreshed stock apps, continuing an aesthetic direction Samsung has been developing quietly across the past two generations. On the AI front, Bixby now integrates Perplexity’s search-focused model in place of Samsung’s own LLM back-end — a candid acknowledgment of where Bixby has consistently fallen short.
Audio Eraser deserves more attention than it’s getting. It applies real-time background noise reduction across the entire system – covering YouTube, Instagram, and other third-party apps during playback, not just Samsung’s native software. That addresses a long-standing frustration that most users have simply accepted. Call Screening takes the work out of handling unknown callers by automating the process. Photo Assist picks up text prompt support, extending Samsung’s AI-assisted photo editing toolkit further.
Galaxy S Series
Galaxy S25, S25+, S25 Ultra, S25 FE, and S25 Edge
Galaxy S24, S24+, S24 Ultra, and S24 FE
Galaxy S23, S23+, S23 Ultra, and S23 FE
Galaxy S22, S22+, and S22 Ultra
Galaxy S21 FE
Galaxy Z Series
Galaxy Z TriFold
Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition
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 Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4
Galaxy Tab Series
Galaxy Tab S11 and S11 Ultra
Galaxy Tab S10+, Tab S10 Lite, Tab S10 Ultra, Tab S10 FE, and Tab S10 FE+
Galaxy Tab S9, Tab S9+, Tab S9 Ultra, Tab S9 FE, and Tab S9 FE+
Galaxy Tab S8, Tab S8+, and Tab S8 Ultra
Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (2024)
Galaxy Tab A11 and Tab A11+
Galaxy Tab A9 and Tab A9+
Galaxy Tab Active 5 and Active 5 Pro
Galaxy A Series
Galaxy A73
Galaxy A56, A55, A54, and A53
Galaxy A36, A35, A34, and A33
Galaxy A26, A25, and A24
Galaxy A17 (4G & 5G), A16 (4G & 5G), and A15 (4G & 5G)
Galaxy A07 (4G & 5G) and A06 (4G & 5G)
Galaxy M Series
Galaxy M56, M55, M55s, and M53
Galaxy M36, M35, M34, and M33
Galaxy M17, M17e, M16, and M15
Galaxy M07 and M06
Galaxy F Series
Galaxy F07e
Galaxy F56, F55, and F54
Galaxy F36 and F34
Galaxy F17, F16, and F15
Galaxy F07 and F06
Galaxy XCover Series
Galaxy XCover 7 Pro and XCover 7
Galaxy XCover 6 Pro
Galaxy S25 series goes first – April 30 in Korea, May 4 for international markets. Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 follow shortly after, possibly within the same April window. Galaxy S24 series along with Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 should arrive in early-to-mid May. Galaxy S23, S22, and mid-range A, M, and F devices can expect their updates through May and June. The full rollout should wrap up before Samsung kicks off One UI 9 beta testing, which is anticipated for the Galaxy S26 series later in 2026.
Google Pixel Watch 5 (45mm)
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.
Google has released Android 17 QPR2 Beta 7 for eligible Pixel smartphones and tablets, a bug-fix build that arrives even though testing for the newer QPR3 branch began last week. Carrying build number CP41.260831.016, the update adds no new interface features. It instead targets two frustrating problems that beta testers reported through the issue tracker […]
Forgetting a PIN right after setting it is a common frustration, and a new teardown suggests Android could eventually offer a way around it without resorting to a factory reset: unlocking a forgotten phone using nothing but a Google account. What the teardown found Tipster AssembleDebug dug through the code of Android 17 QPR2 Beta […]
Google has released Android 17 QPR3 Beta 1 to every still-supported Pixel device, from the Pixel 6a through the new Pixel 11 series, and the rollout arrived earlier than expected this afternoon. The update looks sizable, carrying fixes for at least 20 bugs that had carried over from QPR2. The beta ships as build DP11.260918.005 […]
The previous Android 17 QPR2 Beta 6 update mostly focused on fixing bugs that had been plaguing devices for a while, including a substantial issue that caused phones to reboot simply from scrolling through content, along with fixes for letterboxed content leaking through the status bar during app transitions and a Pixel 9 Pro Fold […]
The next story loads as you reach the end. You can also load it using the button.
Comments & Discussions
Join the conversation! We use Disqus to handle comments. Click the button below to load the comment section.