Summary
- One UI 8 could introduce the “Listen Brief” feature for audio-based summaries of Now Brief, as per code found within the firmware.
- Samsung introduced Now Brief as part of One UI 7 on the Galaxy S25 series in January.
- The first public beta of One UI 8 is expected to land this month, while reports suggest One UI 8 stable could appear by July with Samsung’s mid-year foldables.
Samsung’s One UI 7 took its sweet time reaching older Galaxy flagships after it debuted with the Galaxy S25 in January. Thankfully, the rollout appears to be progressing smoothly, with the company’s focus now shifting onto One UI 8, which will be based on Android 16. Early peeks at the upcoming software have given us a general idea of what to expect, such as a “Private album” functionality within Samsung Gallery, as well as some Now Bar improvements. A new report now sheds light on another upgrade to a recently added feature — Now Brief.
Digging through code within the One UI 8 firmware, Android Authority discovered the mention of an audio-based Now Brief, known simply as “Listen Brief.” The site has unearthed lines of code that say “Enable Listen Brief Button,” plus the ability to choose between Samsung and Google’s text-to-speech (TTS) engines, making it apparent what it’s meant to do. Expectedly, users will also be able to pause/resume the Listen Brief or stop it from playing entirely.
Source: Android Authority
This will be a welcome addition to Samsung’s flagship smartphones from an accessibility perspective, while those who are in a hurry or in no mood to read could also benefit from their personalized Now Brief playing over the headphones or car speakers.
It’s worth noting that references to this new feature in One UI 8’s firmware don’t guarantee its appearance when the software goes stable. But given the underwhelming response received by the current version of Now Brief, it may serve Samsung’s interests to market this as one of the key new features of One UI 8.
One UI 8 could be here before you know it
If recent reports hold up, Samsung could launch the One UI 8 public beta later this month, while the stable version could land as early as July with the Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Z Fold 7. Keeping this in mind, we could be treated to more One UI 8 information in the weeks ahead.
But don’t get your hopes up about new features, as we’ve already seen reports suggesting One UI 8 may not bring a major overhaul and focus instead on smaller changes, such as enhancements to virtual RAM and updated system animations.
Meanwhile, Android 16 stable will roll out to Google Pixel devices in June, so the wait for One UI 8 won’t be much longer beyond that, assuming Samsung doesn’t face a repeat of the One UI 7 fiasco.
