Leaks and rumours about One UI 8.5 have been floating around for quite sometime now. With no official word from Samsung, it is hard to tell when it will finally materialise into reality. Now, a fresh set of reports has revealed that the Galaxy S25 Ultra could be the first to receive the new update.
Android 16-based OneUI 8.5 heading to Galaxy S25 series soon
As per tipster Tarun Vats, Samsung is planning to treat the Galaxy S25 series users first with the OneUI 8.5 update based on Android 16. He managed to spot the beta build on the test server with the S938NKSU7ZYKP build number. This falls in line with the tipped One UI 8.5 November rollout timeline, which we came to know of a few months back.
We are already in the final week of November 2025. So, Samsung is treading on thin ice here. It could be that the official rollout will happen in the coming weeks. So, the One UI 8.5 eligible device update could very well seep into December 2025.
So, if we were to go by Vats' report, the Galaxy S25 series, along with the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Galaxy Z Flip 7 and the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE will become the first smartphones to receive the update. Also, the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+ and the Galaxy S26 Ultra will become the first phones to ship with the stable One UI 8.5 update first.
As for what the new Android 16-based update will bring, it is said to be heavily inspired by iOS 26. A previous One UI 8.5 design leak revealed Apple's Liquid Glass "inspiration" throughout the UI. For instance, the top bar's back button appears to have been redesigned to mimic drop shadow effects. There are also new gradient and shadow effects in the Settings menu.
Aside from that, a previous leak hinted at a new One UI 8.5 auto blur content feature, which is said to make use of Galaxy AI to hide sensitive data like metadata, location and more before sharing a photo from the Share menu.
