One UI 8.5 Beta Is Very Close — New Samsung Update Quietly Confirms It

Samsung still hasn’t announced when One UI 8.5 Beta will officially begin, but signs of its arrival are becoming harder to miss. The company’s own software updates now imply that the rollout is imminent. The first beta build may drop later this week, if not today.

PENUP update mentions One UI 8.5 compatibility, hinting at imminent beta release

A recent rumor claimed that One UI 8.5 Beta would launch on Monday, December 8, for the Galaxy S25 series. While that date may slip, Samsung’s latest update for the PENUP app strongly suggests that the wait won’t be much longer. The official release notes for the update confirm that the app is ready for One UI 8.5, a software version Samsung has yet to launch.

This doesn’t mean the beta is live, but it does mean the Korean firm has already finalized app-side optimizations for One UI 8.5. This typically happens only when a One UI rollout is just around the corner. Note that this update appeared on a Galaxy device running a leaked internal build of One UI 8.5. This means Samsung is hard at work on the upcoming update behind the scenes.

The beta program is expected to roll out in the week of December 8, at least in South Korea and the US. Unless Samsung shakes things up for One UI 8.5, Galaxy S25 users in the UK and Germany may also get access to beta updates in the first wave. The second wave may arrive later this month, expanding beta updates to India and Poland.

As far as device compatibility is concerned, the Galaxy S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra are pretty much confirmed to get beta access. However, it’s unclear if Samsung plans beta releases for other models. We will let you know when we have more information. With internal testing already in motion and beta-friendly app versions rolling out, the launch is almost certainly this week, if not today.