Samsung One UI 8.5 Beta Is Now Live for Galaxy S23, S24, S25, Z Fold5, and Even the Galaxy A36 — The Full Device List and How to Get It Right Now
Samsung has been quietly orchestrating one of the most expansive beta rollouts in its software history — and as of April 2026, it has officially reached a milestone that even the most optimistic Galaxy fans did not expect this quickly. The One UI 8.5 beta program, which launched exclusively for the Galaxy S25 series back in December 2025, has now expanded in waves to include the Galaxy S24 series, the Galaxy S23 series, both the Z Fold5 and Z Flip5, the Z Fold6 and Z Flip6, and — in a genuinely historic first — the Galaxy A36 5G, marking the first time Samsung has ever brought a One UI major beta to its mid-range A series lineup. This is not a routine software update. It is a strategic software event that touches tens of millions of Galaxy devices simultaneously, delivers a feature set previously reserved for the S26 flagship family, and signals a fundamental shift in how Samsung thinks about the relationship between its hardware tiers and its software ecosystem. If you own one of these devices and have not yet enrolled in the beta program, this guide tells you everything you need to know — what the update contains, which devices have access, which markets are eligible, and exactly how to claim it before Samsung closes registration.
Why One UI 8.5 Is Not Just Another Incremental Update
The natural instinct when any major software version is announced is skepticism. Android skins have a long history of delivering version bumps that amount to cosmetic tweaks dressed up in marketing language. One UI 8.5 is categorically not that, and understanding why requires context about where it sits in Samsung’s software roadmap. One UI 8.5 is the software version that shipped pre-installed on the Galaxy S26 series at its February 2026 Unpacked event — Samsung’s annual flagship launch moment. Every feature in the One UI 8.5 stable build represents what Samsung considered ready for its premium customers first. The fact that the same software is now being extended backward through the beta program to devices from three generations ago is not a standard feature trickle — it is Samsung deliberately expanding its flagship software experience to a user base that paid less for their hardware and would ordinarily receive a trimmed-down version of these capabilities.
The update is built on Android 16, which itself represents a meaningful baseline shift in system-level permissions, privacy controls, background app management, and battery optimization. For Galaxy S23 users in particular — who launched on Android 13 — receiving Android 16 through the One UI 8.5 stable update represents three full Android platform generations of advancement in a single installation. The security hardening alone, from Android 13 to Android 16’s revised permission framework and enhanced threat detection, is substantive enough to matter for daily use. But One UI 8.5’s contribution layers considerably on top of Android 16’s foundation, and the features that are drawing the most attention from beta participants are firmly in the software intelligence and AI category.
The Complete One UI 8.5 Beta Device List
Samsung’s expansion of the beta program has followed a clear tiered sequence that reflects both hardware capability thresholds and the company’s commercial priorities. The following is the complete confirmed device list as of April 20, 2026, organized by the phase in which each device entered the program.
Phase 1 — December 2025 (Galaxy S25 Series Launch): Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25+, and Galaxy S25 Ultra entered the beta program simultaneously with the software’s public announcement, receiving the first beta build on December 8, 2025, in Germany, India, South Korea, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. By the time Phase 2 began, the Galaxy S25 series had received nine consecutive beta builds — a pace of refinement that indicates Samsung was preparing a stable release imminently, with April 30 cited as a rumored stable rollout date.
Phase 2 — March 2026 (Flagship Expansion): Samsung’s official news release on March 25, 2026 confirmed the expansion to the Galaxy S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra, the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Z Flip6, the Galaxy S25 FE, the Galaxy S24 FE, and the Galaxy Tab S11 series in India, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This phase was significant because it confirmed that the Z Fold6 and Z Flip6 foldable families — devices whose form factor demands specific software optimization — had been fully validated for One UI 8.5 and were ready for beta participation.
Phase 3 — April 2026 (The Historic Expansion): Samsung’s April 8, 2026 official announcement confirmed the most consequential phase of the program. The Galaxy S23, S23+, S23 Ultra, and S23 FE joined the beta in India, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Galaxy Z Fold5 and Z Flip5 joined in South Korea and the United States. And most remarkably, the Galaxy A36 5G joined the beta program exclusively in India — making it the first A series device ever to receive a One UI major version beta. Samsung’s decision to include the A36 5G in the beta is not incidental. It is a deliberate signal about where the company intends to take Galaxy AI features in the mid-range tier across the South Asian market.
The Full Feature Breakdown: What One UI 8.5 Actually Delivers
The headline features of One UI 8.5 fall into three broad categories: Galaxy AI enhancements, ease of use and interface refinements, and foldable-specific optimizations. Each category has received substantive development, and the combined effect represents the most significant single software update Samsung has shipped to non-flagship devices in recent memory.
On the Galaxy AI front, One UI 8.5 introduces Now Brief and Now Bar functionality that proactively surfaces contextually relevant information on the lock screen and home screen based on time of day, calendar events, and usage patterns. This is Samsung’s answer to Google’s Pixel-exclusive At a Glance feature — and it is considerably more personalized, drawing on a wider range of on-device signals. AI Photo Assist receives a major upgrade, with the Generative Photo Editing feature — previously limited to Galaxy S25 hardware — now arriving on Galaxy S24 and S23 devices with sufficient neural processing capability. This allows users to remove objects, extend backgrounds, and apply scene-aware edits that go beyond simple erasure. Audio Eraser in the video camera, which uses AI to isolate and remove unwanted ambient sounds from recorded video, is also part of the package — a feature that content creators and casual videographers alike have been requesting since Samsung first teased it at Galaxy Unpacked.
Live Translate and Interpreter mode receive significant accuracy improvements in One UI 8.5, with Samsung citing expanded language pair support and reduced latency in real-time translation scenarios. For Indian users specifically — where the Galaxy A36 5G’s beta inclusion is most relevant — expanded support for Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, and Marathi in the Live Translate feature set is a genuine usability enhancement for a population of hundreds of millions of Galaxy device owners who regularly communicate across multiple languages in a single day.
The interface refinements in One UI 8.5 are less dramatic but consistently noticed by beta participants. The Quick Panel has been redesigned for faster access to frequently toggled settings, with a new customization system that allows users to create context-sensitive panel layouts for different scenarios — commuting, working, and exercising. The lock screen clock system, which received criticism for limited customization in previous One UI versions, has been completely rebuilt with a component-based architecture that allows independent styling of the time, date, and notification elements. The Animation system throughout the OS has been recalibrated for smoother, faster transitions that reduce the perceived latency in everyday interactions.
For Z Fold5 and Z Fold6 users, One UI 8.5 delivers the Flex Mode Panel redesign that Samsung debuted on the Z Fold7 — a more intuitive split-screen management system that better leverages the large cover display for quick actions without opening the device. The Multi-Window workflow receives a persistent memory system that remembers user-defined app pair configurations across sessions, eliminating the need to repeatedly set up the same split-screen arrangements.
How to Join the One UI 8.5 Beta Program Right Now
The enrollment process is straightforward, takes less than five minutes, and requires nothing beyond the Samsung Members app — which comes pre-installed on all Galaxy devices. The process is identical across all eligible devices and markets, with one important caveat: beta spots are limited, and Samsung has historically closed enrollment once its testing quota for a specific device and market combination has been filled.
Begin by opening the Samsung Members app on your Galaxy device. If you have previously uninstalled it, download it from the Galaxy Store — it is free and available to all Galaxy device owners. Log in with your Samsung Account. If you do not have one, create one using the same email address associated with your device. On the Samsung Members app homepage, look for the “One UI Beta Program” banner or card. Samsung positions this prominently during active beta enrollment periods — it appears as a highlighted card on the home screen of the app, not buried in a settings menu. Tap the banner and follow the on-screen enrollment instructions. Once registration is confirmed, navigate to Settings > Software Update > Download and Install on your device. The beta build will appear as an available update. Download and install it as you would any standard software update, ensuring your device is connected to Wi-Fi and has at least 50 percent battery charge before initiating the installation.
Market-specific eligibility is critical. Based on Samsung’s official announcements, the current market availability by device group is as follows. Galaxy S25 series beta is available in Germany, India, South Korea, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Galaxy S24 series, Z Fold6, Z Flip6, S25 FE, S24 FE, and Tab S11 beta is available in India, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Galaxy S23 series and S23 FE beta is available in India, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Galaxy Z Fold5 and Z Flip5 beta is available in South Korea and the United States only. Galaxy A36 5G beta is available exclusively in India. If your market is not listed for your device, your options are to wait for Samsung to announce an expansion or to monitor the Samsung Members app homepage regularly, as Samsung has added markets to existing device enrollments without separate announcements during previous beta cycles.
The April 2026 Security Patch: The Other Update Running in Parallel
While the One UI 8.5 beta is capturing the majority of Samsung software coverage, it is worth noting that the April 2026 security patch is rolling out simultaneously across Galaxy devices that are not yet eligible for the One UI 8.5 beta. The April patch addresses 47 CVEs including two rated Critical by Google’s Android Security Bulletin — patches that every Galaxy device owner should prioritize regardless of their interest in the One UI 8.5 beta program. For Galaxy S26 series users, the April security patch arrives as part of the One UI 8.5 stable build that is their current production software. For all other eligible devices receiving the One UI 8.5 beta, the beta builds include the April security patch as a baseline.
What the Galaxy A36 5G Inclusion Signals for Samsung’s Strategy
The decision to include the Galaxy A36 5G in the One UI 8.5 beta — exclusively in India, exclusively as a first-ever A series beta participant — is the detail in this entire rollout that carries the most long-term strategic significance. Samsung’s A series accounts for the majority of its global unit volume. In India specifically, the Galaxy A series consistently ranks among the top-selling Android smartphones across all price categories. By bringing the One UI 8.5 beta to the A36 5G, Samsung is communicating something important to the hundreds of millions of consumers who bought a Galaxy A device rather than an S or Z series: you are not a second-class citizen in Samsung’s software ecosystem.
The practical implication is that Galaxy AI features — including the Live Translate improvements, the enhanced Camera features, the Now Brief and Now Bar proactive intelligence system, and the redesigned Quick Panel — will eventually reach the A series stable rollout. The beta’s arrival on the A36 5G in India represents the testing infrastructure needed to validate these features on mid-range hardware before stable deployment. Samsung’s long-stated goal of bringing Galaxy AI to over 100 million devices is not achievable through flagship and foldable sales alone. It requires the A series, and the A36’s beta inclusion is the operational proof that Samsung is executing on that commitment.
The Stable Release Timeline and What Comes Next
Based on the beta program’s progression, the stable One UI 8.5 release timeline is becoming increasingly clear. The Galaxy S25 series — having completed nine beta builds as of April 2026 — is on track for stable release by the end of April 2026, with April 30 cited as the most credible target date by multiple independent tracking sources. The Galaxy S24 series and Z Fold6 and Z Flip6 will likely receive stable One UI 8.5 in May to June 2026, following the completion of their beta cycles. The Galaxy S23 series, Z Fold5, and Z Flip5 are expected to follow in June to July 2026, with the Galaxy A36 5G’s stable timeline dependent on how quickly the India beta generates sufficient feedback for Samsung to finalize its A series deployment build.
For Galaxy owners whose devices are not yet on the beta list — including the Galaxy S22 series, Galaxy A55, and Galaxy A56 — Samsung has not made official commitments about One UI 8.5 stable availability, though the A55 and A56 have been identified in YouTube coverage as expected additions to the beta program in coming weeks. The prudent expectation is that devices not currently on the beta list will either receive a stable One UI 8.5 build later in 2026 or will be confirmed for One UI 9 as their next major version update, depending on where Samsung draws its hardware capability threshold for the AI features that define One UI 8.5’s value proposition. What is no longer in any doubt is that Samsung’s commitment to software longevity — and its ambition to make Galaxy AI a universal experience across its entire active device portfolio — is driving the most consequential free software upgrade campaign the company has ever executed.