Samsung’s One UI 8 could be followed by One UI 8.5 — but when will it arrive?

The back of a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra — (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

It’s quite shocking that One UI 7 is only just rolling out to the majority of Samsung Galaxy Phones. Not only was it originally released back in January on Galaxy S25, but Android 15 — upon which it’s based — is now over six months old.

Hopefully things will be different going forward. Not only is One UI 8 rumored to be coming this summer, but a report from Sammypolice claims Samsung has started work on One UI 8.5 as well.

The site claims to have spotted references to One UI 8.5 within Samsung’s system code. That suggests some form of early development has already taken place, though the lack of references to One UI 8.1 or other versions makes it sound like Samsung could be skipping over them entirely.

In fact, according to leaker Tarun Vats, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Which could see Samsung revert back to the old way of updating One UI, with the 8.5 update offering substantially better upgrades than drip-feeding us new stuff with versions 8.1 through 8.4.

Hopefully One UI 8 will roll out more smoothly than One UI 7

One UI 7 logo next to leaked screenshot of quick settings

(Image credit: Samsung / Ice Universe)

The biggest issue with One UI 7 is that development has been marred with delays. Over the past several years, especially since One UI first launched, Samsung has been one of the better Android phone makers for updates.

New software doesn't roll out quite as quickly as it does for Google Pixels, for obvious reasons, but Samsung users typically don't have to wait that long. One UI 7 has been a serious exception, and I’d hope Samsung has plans in place to stop the same thing happening to One UI 8.

More so when you remember that Android 16 is due to be released later this year, with rumors pointing towards a late May or June release date.

The only question is, when will One UI 8.5 be released? Rumor has it that One UI 8 will land alongside the Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Galaxy Z Fold 7 this summer. If Samsung wants to stick to releasing major software updates with phone releases, then the Galaxy S26 launch in early 2026 is a strong candidate.

Though I’m hoping Samsung won’t stay beholden to that pattern, and will instead release new software as and when it’s ready to be released.

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Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.

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