Samsung has released a new beta preview for OneUI 8.5, and one of the latest features has forgetful children like myself sweating buckets.
Alongside the latest bug fixes and tweaks, it seems Samsung is looking to include a feature that would remind you to contact family members if you haven’t spoken to them in a while (via Android Authority).
A boon for the forgetful, but it’s hard not to feel shamed
This feature was first spotted by NirmalSri on X, who shared a screenshot of his OneUI 8.5’s Now Brief prompting him to “say hello to your family”, along with a contact card, and notes on how long it’s been since he last contacted them through his phone. The prompt also included a “not now” button to dismiss the message.
Notable leaker Ice Universe also spotlighted this feature after it pointed out he’d gone 22 days without speaking to his mother — which, personally speaking, isn’t even close to my personal best.
It’s not clear how Samsung’s software is figuring out which people to highlight with this feature, but it’s likely it’s keeping an eye on contacts you speak to a lot, or who are simply called “mom”, “dad”, or other similarly familial names.
I admit it, I’m an “out of sight, out of mind” kind of guy. As much as it shames me to admit it, yes, if I don’t see people for a while, I tend to forget they exist. I’m a simple fella.
So really, this should be a boon for me. And in some ways, this sort of inclusion is exactly what I want from AI. But it really is hard not to feel shamed when it shows how long it’s been since you spoke to a specific person, whether it’s your mother, grandfather, or sibling. Well, maybe not that last one.
But with that being said, this is, on the whole, a positive use for AI. Helping people who might be forgetful about contacting loved ones is a good way to use this sort of technology.
However, it’s worth remembering that this sort of feature needs strong controls, and it needs them from day one. While this feature can have a good impact, this means we’re now weeks away from the first “Samsung just told me to call my dead dad” X post. Plus, people may not have the best relationships with their living family members, and may not want to be nudged to call them every few weeks.
Samsung likely does include settings and controls for this, but it might be worth making this an opt-in AI feature before OneUI 8.5 hits its final release.
