Danny Weber
19:35 06-12-2025
© A. Krivonosov
Samsung's One UI 8.5 Beta starts Dec 8 on Galaxy S25, with AI upgrades, a Bixby overhaul, improved sharing, and UI tweaks, rolling out in select regions.
According to a leak, Samsung plans to launch the One UI 8.5 Beta on Monday, December 8, kicking off with the Galaxy S25 lineup. The move stands out: the company rarely runs open public betas for updates of this kind, so the community expects more than a cosmetic patch and is looking for a noticeable bundle of changes.
The momentum around test builds also hints at an imminent start. Lately, Samsung has been refreshing the beta branch far more often, and earlier a build labeled PDA ZYL5 was spotted on the company’s servers, which many took as a sign of a near-public release. The beta is expected to roll out selectively at first—Germany, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States are mentioned as likely starting points—before the geography widens.
On the feature side, early descriptions suggest One UI 8.5 leans on AI and tighter ecosystem integration. Among the most discussed changes are a major Bixby overhaul with more confident natural language understanding and settings control; expanded Galaxy AI capabilities in the photo editor, such as more continuous generation of alternatives; and new file-sharing scenarios between devices through My Files, plus a Storage Share–style option.
In parallel, more down-to-earth interface tweaks are expected: a more flexible quick settings shade, a redesigned battery information screen, and extra tools for lock screen personalization. It’s also reported that Samsung is already testing One UI 8.5 on the Galaxy S24 series, so owners of last year’s flagships may be next in line for beta access.