Breaking! One UI 8.5 Beta Launched for Galaxy S25 Series

The next chapter in Samsung’s One UI journey has officially begun. The company has released the One UI 8.5 Beta for the Galaxy S25 series, giving early adopters their first taste of its refreshed Android 16 experience. The stable version is still a few months away; it is expected to debut in early 2026, shipping out of the box on the upcoming Galaxy S26 series.

Galaxy S25’s One UI 8.5 Beta Program is now live

As expected, Samsung has launched the beta program first in South Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Only the Galaxy S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra are eligible in this first wave. Owners of the Galaxy S25 Edge or S25 FE will have to wait for the stable release, unless Samsung decides to include these models in a later beta phase.

The second wave should kick off later this month, bringing One UI 8.5 Beta to India and Poland. While we do not have official confirmation yet, Samsung has historically run public beta programs in these markets. However, since One UI 8.5 is not a major OS upgrade, the company may keep the list of participating regions smaller than usual.

If you live in a supported country and own an eligible Galaxy S25 model, you can sign up for the beta through the Samsung Members app. A banner will appear on the home screen when enrollment is available. Tap the notice, follow the steps, and register your device.

Once approved, the beta update will arrive like a normal OTA release. You can also check manually by navigating to Settings > Software update > Download and install. The first beta build comes with firmware version ZYL8 and weighs nearly 4GB. With One UI 8.5 Beta now live, Samsung’s 2026 software cycle is officially underway. Stay tuned for more updates.