As rumors had predicted, Samsung has started the Android 16 QPR2-based One UI 8.5 beta program for the Galaxy S25 series. This is the first phase of the beta program and is only open to S25 owners in selected countries.
You can join the One UI 8.5 beta program by tapping the banner in the Samsung Members app. Post that, check for an update on your phone, and the 3.9GB ZYL8 firmware should appear for download. Currently, the One UI 8.5 beta is live in South Korea, Germany, Poland, India, the US, and the UK.
Do note that installing the beta firmware won’t touch your data on the phone. However, exiting the beta program midway will wipe the phone’s storage clean.
Samsung’s official release notes highlight several key improvements. This includes a faster and smoother Quick Share experience, with the OS automatically identifying the people in a picture and directly surfacing them as share suggestions.
It also improves device connectivity by adding Audio Broadcast support for compatible LE Audio devices. There are more personalization options as well, including expanded lock screen clock customization.
Other changes include revamped 3D-style app icons, more transparency effects in system apps, a more customizable Quick Settings panel, partial screen recording, and a revamped battery info page.
Several system apps have been improved as well, with the Clock app gaining a time zone converter, the Weather widget showing a graph for precipitation, and Samsung Health providing enhanced weekly reports and a more customizable sharing experience.
One UI 8.5 beta is based on Android 16’s latest release
This is the first time Samsung has launched a One UI beta program based on a Quarterly Platform Release of Android. More importantly, the beta program starts just days after Google officially pushed Android 16 QPR2 to compatible Pixel devices. This shows the company’s rapid pace of development, likely made possible by switching to Google’s new Trunk Stable model.
Samsung will likely release the stable build of One UI 8.5 with the Galaxy S26 series next year. It will then expand the skin’s support to the Galaxy S25 and older devices. The beta program for S24 and other Galaxy flagships is also unlikely to go live before next year.
