Samsung Galaxy S25’s One UI 8.5 rollout is still weeks away

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Samsung has been beta testing Android 16 QPR2-based One UI 8.5 for the Galaxy S25 family for a few months now. Public beta testing started in early December, with the company rolling out eight beta builds so far. Unfortunately, if you were expecting a stable rollout any day now, that may not happen.

Reliable Samsung leaker Tarun Vats says Samsung will push the stable One UI 8.5 build for the Galaxy S25 in Korea on April 30. That’s another three weeks from now. Internationally, the rollout will supposedly commence from May 4 based on Samsung’s One UI update release timeline from 2025.

Samsung has already released the stable One UI 8.5 build with the Galaxy S26 series in early March. So, the delay suggests that the company wants to keep the update exclusive to its new flagship for a couple of months. While a few weeks of exclusivity would have been fine, a two-month delay is bound to disappoint many S25 owners.

On the bright side, One UI 8.5 will bring some Galaxy S26 features to the S25. This includes Call screening and other “usability enhancements (translated).” This will be on top of other improvements that One UI 8.5 packs, such as UI refinements and additional customization options.

While not mentioned in the leak, the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Flip 7, and older compatible Galaxy flagships should also get the stable One UI 8.5 update in early May or later in the month.

One UI 8.5 rollout raises more questions than answers

While One UI 8.5 is not as big an update as One UI 8, it’s still disappointing to see Samsung keep the build exclusive to its flagship for nearly two months. It defeats the entire purpose of the company switching its development cycle to align more closely with that of Google for faster rollout of updates.

With Android 17 reaching platform stability following the release of Beta 3 in March, Samsung will likely shift its focus to One UI 9 once it wraps up the One UI 8.5 rollout. Going by the company’s past track record, expect the beta to only land on the Galaxy S26 series initially.