Samsung has launched the One UI 8.5 beta, four months after the rollout of One UI 8. It's a big step toward a smarter Galaxy experience. Starting today, Galaxy S25 users in select markets can sign up through the Members app and test the newest version.
One UI 8.5 doubles down on creativity with an upgraded Photo Assist that lets you generate and edit images nonstop. You can flip through your entire history to pick the best version. Quick Share now also recognizes people in your photos and nudges you to send them directly to the right contacts.
Ad blocking and more coming on One UI 8.5
Besides the features above, Samsung is tightening the Galaxy ecosystem. Audio Broadcast lets you beam your voice or media to nearby LE Audio devices using Auracast.
LE Audio is built to the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) standard. Traditional Bluetooth audio is what wireless earbuds have been using for years. While it’s reliable, it only connects point-to-point, meaning one source to your phone to one output.
LE Audio supports one-to-many broadcasting, where your phone can send audio to multiple nearby devices simultaneously.
The key enabler is Auracast broadcast audio, which lets your phone act as a mini radio station. It'll transmit an audio stream over BLE that any compatible receiver can pick up.
One UI 8.5 also tackles one of Android’s most embarrassing problems: excessive ads. Not normal ads. These are the apps that hijack your notifications, overlay ads on your home screen, and spam pop-ups you can’t close.
It's a serious security issue because the companies buying those ads don’t realize scammers running ad-fraud networks are using their content.
Android’s first built-in ad regulator works at two levels. The lighter level, Basic Blocking, keeps a naughty list of apps known for aggressive advertising. If you try to install one, your phone blocks it from running.
The second level is Intelligent Blocking. It uses on-device AI to inspect the notifications coming into your phone. Then classifies which ones are legitimate system or app notifications, and which ones are ads disguised as alerts. Your phone automatically blocks a guilty app’s ability to push ads afterwards.
Security is getting tighter on the Galaxy ecosystem
The new Storage Share feature in One UI 8.5 consolidates files from your phone, tablet, PC, and even Samsung TVs into a single place. Your device should feel like one shared workspace. The primary benefit is that your workflow no longer depends on USB cables or cloud uploads.
Theft Protection has been added to keep your data safe if your phone goes missing, while Failed Authentication Lock shuts everything down after too many wrong attempts. More settings now require identity checks.
The beta launches today exclusively for S25 series users in Germany, India, Korea, Poland, the UK, and the US, with more regions to follow.
They have newer hardware, which is likely why the S25 Edge and S25 FE won't be part of the program. These models always use a mid-tier processor, typically a Snapdragon 7-series chip or a scaled-down Exynos variant.
That aside, you have to be signed in to your Samsung account to make the most of the new features. It acts as the identity anchor for all cross-device features. Without it, Samsung has no way to confirm that the devices belong to the same person and that file access is secure.
