Now Brief Missing from Galaxy S23’s One UI 8 Beta Update

Today was a good day for Samsung users. The company rolled out One UI 8 beta updates to a bunch of devices, including the Galaxy S23 series. While the update gives S23 users their first taste of Android 16 and Samsung’s latest software innovations, there’s a glaring omission: the AI-powered “Now Brief” feature is missing from the Galaxy AI page.

Galaxy S23 doesn’t get Now Brief with its first One UI 8 beta update

Now Brief is Samsung’s AI summary tool for Galaxy users. It gathers notifications, news, and schedules and condenses them into quick, digestible overviews accessible from the lock screen. The feature debuted with One UI 7 on the Galaxy S25 series and was later enhanced with One UI 8. Samsung upgraded it with a read-aloud function and expanded YouTube recommendations that surface larger, more immersive video previews.

The company recently rolled out Now Brief to the Galaxy S24 with the One UI 8 Beta 2 update. Naturally, Galaxy S23 users expected it to be part of their beta experience, but not. Samsung hasn’t explained the omission, so it’s unclear whether it plans to add the feature with subsequent updates. As mentioned above, the initial beta release for the S24 lineup also skipped Now Brief, but it was added with Beta 2.

Samsung has previously hinted at hardware limitations on older flagships for keeping Now Brief exclusive to the Galaxy S25 series on One UI 7. However, One UI enthusiasts have been able to smoothly run Now Brief on Galaxy S23 phones. Some features may not work as effectively, but the 2023 flagships can surely offer a decent Now Brief experience, which makes this omission even more frustrating for users.

That said, history suggests there may still be hope. Samsung may still be testing the feature to ensure smooth functioning. It could remove some tools that may take a toll on the device. For now, Galaxy S23 users participating in One UI 8 beta can enjoy smoother animations and fresh UI polish while waiting to see if Samsung decides to expand Now Brief to more devices.