Samsung Starts Working on One UI 8.5, Set to Roll Out Along Galaxy S26

Samsung’s One UI 8 beta program has been running for a little over two weeks, and the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 will launch running One UI 8 stable. After that, more Galaxy devices should start receiving the update, starting with the Galaxy S25 series, obviously. In the middle of all this, Samsung might have already started work on One UI 8.5.

Samsung kicks off One UI 8.5 development early

According to Tarun Vats on X, Samsung is on track with its next major software update. One UI 8.5 will reportedly arrive alongside the Galaxy S26 series, likely in early 2026. As things stand, Samsung doesn’t seem to have any plans for a One UI 8.1 or 8.1.1 release, which points to 8.5 being the next big step. That’s also backed up by early signs in internal testing and version numbering.

Notably, Samsung hasn’t released a x.5 version of One UI since 2020, when it rolled out One UI 2.5. Since then, the company has mostly stuck with minor x.1 and x.1.1 updates in between major Android upgrades. The return of a x.5 release suggests that Samsung is preparing a more substantial update. Historically, x.5 builds have brought more noticeable changes compared to the incremental x.1 or x.1.1 updates.

One UI 8.5 will still be based on Android 16, so don’t expect Android 17 to show up in early 2026. Google’s timeline for Android 17 is likely to stick to its usual schedule. That means Samsung will probably hold off until the One UI 9 cycle for that jump.

More concrete info should surface as development progresses and test builds start showing up on servers. For now, it looks like One UI 8.5 is right on track. As for what’s coming in One UI 8.5, details are still limited. However, early reports suggest Samsung is working on expanding its AI capabilities across the system.