Samsung’s One Ui 8.5 began a third major wave today, landing on older and cheaper Galaxy phones around the world and expanding the company’s Android 16 update to models that missed the first two waves.
The update is arriving on the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus and Galaxy S23 Ultra, as well as the Galaxy A56 and Galaxy A36, with Galaxy S23 users in Germany, Pakistan, Portugal and Spain reporting that they have already received it and Galaxy A56 owners in South Africa, Norway, Egypt and other countries seeing the rollout.
Samsung first pushed One Ui 8.5 on May 6 in South Korea, starting with the Galaxy S26 series, and widened the global rollout on May 11 to include the Galaxy S25 series and the latest foldables; the Galaxy S24 series followed shortly after that expansion. Today’s wave brings the company closer to its stated goal: the full eligible list now covers most Galaxy phones released in the last three to four years and includes the Galaxy S25 and S26 series, Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5 and upwards, plus select A-series devices.
One Ui 8.5 is built on Android 16 and carries several visible changes: a redesigned interface with floating pill-shaped menus, new Quick Panel and Lock Screen customization options, and AirDrop-style compatibility through an updated Quick Share integration. Owners of Galaxy S24 series phones and newer also get four AI tools that first appeared on the Galaxy S26 earlier this year — Audio Eraser, Creative Studio, Call Screening and an updated Photo Assist — while the Galaxy S23 range and A-series phones will not receive those four features.
Audio Eraser runs from the Quick Panel and lets users isolate and adjust specific sounds, including voices, music and background noise while streaming content. Creative Studio is a generative AI image editor that can turn sketches into finished artwork or completely change the style of existing images. Call Screening answers unknown calls and transcribes them in real time so users can decide whether to pick up, and Photo Assist uses text prompts to add or remove objects or change details such as clothing colors. Samsung has said the Galaxy S23 FE is expected to follow soon in this broader rollout.
The split in feature availability is the central tension of this wave. While the upgrade expands One Ui 8.5’s reach to older and more affordable hardware, Samsung is keeping the headline generative-AI tools restricted to newer flagships. Galaxy S23 owners will still receive an upgraded Bixby powered by Perplexity AI, which Samsung says understands natural language well enough to find and change settings without users needing to know setting names — but the full creative and editing toolset remains a flagship perk.
Even among newer phones that do get most headline features, there are hardware-driven gaps. The stable One Ui 8.5 update began reaching the Galaxy S24 Ultra in late May, and reports note that while the S24 Ultra carries a highly customizable Quick Panel, a Gallery app with a floating bottom menu and a new blur effect, it still lacks 24-megapixel support and the horizontal lock feature. An APV codec is also missing on the S24 Ultra because of a chipset limitation, underlining that software parity is often constrained by hardware.
For owners, the result is clear: One Ui 8.5 widens the visual refresh and sharing conveniences to a broad swath of Galaxy devices, but the generative-AI features that defined Samsung’s marketing of the update remain tied to the most recent hardware. If you own a Galaxy S24 or newer you get the full AI toolbox; if you are on a Galaxy S23 or an A-series model you will see interface changes, Quick Share improvements and a smarter Bixby on some devices — but not Audio Eraser, Creative Studio, Call Screening or the updated Photo Assist.
The rollout’s next steps will be watching which remaining models join the list and whether Samsung decides to bring more AI features to earlier phones; for now, the company has split its user base between cosmetic and sharing upgrades for many, and the flagship-grade AI experience for the newest handsets.
