After months of beta testing, Samsung is finally rolling out the stable One UI 8.5 update for its flagship Galaxy devices: the Galaxy S25, Z Fold 7, and Flip 7. This is the first major update for the Galaxy S25 since Samsung pushed Android 16-based One UI 8 in September 2025.
For now, the BZDP firmware is only available for Galaxy S25 — including the S25 FE — and Z Fold/Flip owners in South Korea who are a part of the One UI 8.5 beta program. This also explains why the OTA is only a 580–600 MB download.
If all goes well, Samsung should push the same build to the public within the next few days. Other regions should get access to the firmware sooner rather than later. The company usually expands the update to European countries within a few days of the initial rollout.
One UI 8.5 brings several minor UI tweaks alongside functional improvements like AirDrop compatibility for Quick Share. More importantly, it brings some AI-powered features as seen on the Galaxy S26 to the S25, including automatic call screening, image generation with Photo Assist, and a new, smarter Bixby.
One UI 8.5 is notable for being one of the first Android skins based on Android 16 QPR2. Android manufacturers typically build their skins on the initial release of a major Android version, often skipping subsequent Quarterly Platform Releases altogether.
With QPR updates now packing more features and changes than ever before, this becomes a problem. For example, Google only rolled out Material 3 Expressive and Live activities for notifications to Pixel phones with Android 16 QPR1.
One UI 8.5 arrives too late
Samsung’s Executive VP and Head of Framework R&D, Sally Hyesoon Jeong, revealed in July 2025 that the company, like Google, had switched to a Trunk Stable development model. In theory, this allows the company to roll out new OS updates faster and more frequently to its devices.
However, that has not exactly been the case. While Samsung quickly released One UI 8 following Android 16’s launch, One UI 8.5 arrived at least a few months later than expected. The skin initially debuted on the Galaxy S26 in early March 2026, but Samsung is only now getting around to releasing it for other flagship Galaxy devices.
