Samsung's One UI 8.5 is finally here, and I can't wait to try it

Published May 15, 2026, 7:00 AM EDT I've been writing about Android since 2011, with a focus on device reviews, Samsung and Google Pixel hardware, and the latest happenings in the ecosystem. In my entire writing career, I've reviewed more than 75 Android phones. Carrying both a Samsung or Pixel flagship and an iPhone as a daily driver provides me with deep insight into how Android works and how it compares to iOS. I have been writing for Android Police since 2021, covering news, how-tos, and features. You can find my previous work on Neowin, AndroidBeat, Times of India, iPhoneHacks, MySmartPrice, and MakeUseOf. When not working, I tend to mindlessly scroll through X, play with new AI models, or go on long road trips. You can reach out to me on X or drop a mail at rajesh@androidpolice.com. After a lengthy beta period, the next big One UI update for your Samsung flagship is finally here. One UI 8.5 builds on One UI 8 to bring new customization options, deeper AI integration, and quality-of-life improvements. It also brings a smarter Bixby that can make navigating your Samsung Galaxy phone easier. As a Galaxy S25 user, there are the One UI 8.5 features I am excited to try. Related The One UI 8.5 setting that finally fixed my Galaxy's most annoying quirk One UI 8.5 has a fix so good it feels like Samsung has been holding out on us More customizable Quick Settings panel Samsung revamped the Quick Settings panel with Android 16-based One UI 8. With One UI 8.5, it is further refining the experience by making the panel more customizable. You can resize individual tiles to your liking. For example, you can resize the brightness slider or music player tile to a single line, or expand them to take up more space and expose more functionality. Additionally, you can reposition tiles freely within the grid and switch between horizontal and vertical layouts. Besides these cosmetic changes, One UI 8.5 enables creating dedicated tiles for more granular options, both from system and third-party apps, making the Quick Settings panel even more powerful. Direct Voicemail Apple and Google have improved the voicemail experience on their phones in the last couple of years. Taking a cue from them, Samsung is introducing Direct Voicemail in One UI 8.5. The feature bypasses your carrier's voicemail system, recording the missed call directly on your Galaxy phone. It even uses AI to show a transcript of the call as it's being recorded. If you have used Live Voicemail on the iPhone, Direct Voicemail is Samsung's take on it for Galaxy phones. You can auto-send calls to Direct Voicemail after a specified time or send them manually from the incoming call screen. What makes Direct Voicemail even better is the Galaxy AI integration. So, you can use AI to summarize longer voicemails, instead of reading the full transcript. Audio Eraser is also available to remove background noise from the recorded call. AirDrop support comes to older Galaxy devices Samsung's flagship Galaxy S26 series already supports AirDrop, allowing you to seamlessly share files with iPhones and other Apple devices via Quick Share without installing additional apps. One UI 8.5 expands AirDrop compatibility to older flagship Galaxy devices. For this, you must enable the Share with Apple devices toggle in the Quick Share settings. Then, any nearby iPhone or iPad with AirDrop visibility set to Everyone for 10 minutes will appear in your Galaxy phone's Quick Share list. If you are a heavy Quick Share user, One UI 8.5 adds an option to ensure your Galaxy device only receives files from other devices logging in to the same Samsung or Google account. Another notable Quick Share improvement in One UI 8.5: photo sharing suggestions. When you share an image, Quick Share recognizes the faces of people in the picture and surfaces them directly as share targets. A more customizable lock screen Customizability is the theme of One UI 8.5, with the update enabling deeper lock screen personalization. When using a lock screen wallpaper with a human or pet, One UI 8.5 will automatically adjust the placement for a perfect fit. Basically, your Galaxy phone will automatically move the clock widgets around so that the important parts of the photo are visible. There's also a Weather option in One UI 8.5's lock screen settings that uses AI to generate animated weather effects, like rain or snowfall. These effects appear behind the wallpaper's main subject, creating a dynamic look without obstructing the photo. Smarter Bixby Credit: Samsung One UI 8.5 debuts a smarter Bixby that uses AI to process your voice commands better. Unlike before, you can now speak to Bixby in natural language, and it will automatically understand what you want. For example, you can ask Bixby to keep your Galaxy phone's screen from turning off while you are looking at it. Samsung's AI assistant will understand your request and enable the relevant system setting. Likewise, you can ask Bixby for help if you cannot figure out a particular behavior on your Galaxy phone. One UI 8.5 also makes Bixby more powerful by adding real-time search capabilities. Samsung has partnered with Perplexity AI to bring this feature to its AI assistant. Real-time search enables Bixby to do more, including helping with recommendations and answering your questions. Instead of brainstorming on your own, you can ask Bixby to suggest hotels for your next trip featuring a pool or scenic views. Do note that the smarter Bixby is only available in selected languages and markets, including Germany, Korea, India, Poland, the UK, and the US. If you are deep into the Galaxy ecosystem, One UI 8.5 introduces a handy Storage Share feature. It enables you to view files and documents stored on other Galaxy devices from the My Files app. Likewise, you can access files stored on your Galaxy phone from other Samsung devices, including TVs. Partial screen recording Samsung is giving screen recording a minor but important upgrade in One UI 8.5. Instead of recording your Galaxy phone's entire screen and then cropping the unwanted parts later, you can record only a portion of the display. The feature is smart enough to automatically detect the area you want to capture and crop out the rest of the screen. For example, if you start a partial screen recording while the YouTube app is open, One UI 8.5's screen recorder will automatically focus on the video window. Enhanced Photo Assist A major new One UI release won't be complete without new Galaxy AI features. Photo Assist gets a key upgrade in One UI 8.5, enabling continuous AI-powered editing. So, instead of saving each edited photo, you can use Photo Assist to make changes continuously. You can view a history of all the edits and filter the changes to keep. One UI 8.5 builds on One UI 8 in all the right ways Besides all the new features, One UI 8.5 stands out for being based on Android 16 QPR2. Android manufacturers typically build their skins on the initial build of a major Android version, skipping QPR releases. However, with Google now introducing more meaningful features and platform improvements through each QPR release, Samsung's decision to base One UI 8.5 on Android 16 QPR2 is a step in the right direction. One UI 8.5 is rolling out for the Galaxy S25, S24, Z Fold 7, Flip 7, and other older Galaxy devices.