Samsung’s One UI 8.5 update is a bigger deal than you thought

We’re still over 3 months away from the expected unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy S26 series, but we already know many of its new software tricks thanks to a trove of One UI 8.5 leaks. Leaked builds of the software have surfaced, giving us a rare opportunity to see what Samsung is developing for its next major release.

As its name suggests, One UI 8.5 will be based on this year’s Android 16 release, not the yet-to-be-released Android 17. However, it will differ from its predecessor. While One UI 8 was based on the initial stable release of Android 16, One UI 8.5 will be built upon the second quarterly platform release, Android 16 QPR2.

Josh Skinner and Jeff Springer from SammyGuru, who obtained a leaked build of One UI 8.5, verified this for us. They confirmed that the SDK version and build ID prefix within the build are “36.1” and “BP4A” respectively — values that correspond to Android 16 QPR2. This information is enough to conclude that One UI 8.5 will be based on Android 16 QPR2, and here’s why that matters.

Why One UI 8.5 being based on Android 16 QPR2 is important

Although Android has been on a quarterly release cycle for years, few device makers besides Google ship software updates based on these releases. Nearly every OEM chooses instead to wait for Google to finalize the next major annual version of Android before they begin adapting it to their own software. This saves them time and effort, as they only have to merge major Android changes once a year instead of four times.

The downside is that OEMs, and by extension their users, miss out on new features that Google introduces in quarterly releases. For example, Google introduced Identity Check — a feature that stops phone thieves from performing sensitive actions even if they know the device’s passcode — in the first quarterly release of Android 15. Because most OEMs skipped Android 15’s quarterly updates, this feature won’t be widely available until those manufacturers roll out their Android 16 updates, which will incorporate all the earlier changes.

OEMs have always had the option to incorporate QPRs or cherry-pick specific changes. Samsung, for example, did just that by adding Identity Check to its One UI 7 update, even though it was based on the initial Android 15 release. However, it’s simply easier for most manufacturers to wait for the next major version, so that’s what they do. Google wants to change this dynamic, as the company hopes to deliver more new features and APIs for developers through its quarterly releases. If OEMs continue to stick to the annual cycle, the number of devices that can receive these new tools in a timely manner will remain limited.

That’s why Samsung basing its One UI 8.5 release on Android 16 QPR2 is such a big deal. We haven’t seen the company — or any other OEM for that matter — incorporate changes from a quarterly Android release since the limited Android 12L release in early 2022. And considering Samsung has embraced Google’s Trunk Stable model to speed up software updates, this may be just the beginning. Moving forward, Samsung could continue to match Google’s release cadence, allowing users and developers to get new Android features on Galaxy devices much sooner.

What new Android features might One UI 8.5 bring?

So, what new Android features can we expect One UI 8.5 to bring? Based on what Google has announced in Android 16 QPR2 Beta 1 and Beta 2 so far, many of the following features could make their way to Galaxy devices:

• UI, System Experience, and Accessibility
  • Expanded dark theme
  • Forced Icon Themes
  • Lock screen widget support
  • Native step tracking in Health Connect
  • A new “universal cursor” option in external display settings
  • Pointer acceleration and other mouse/touchpad settings
  • Interactive Chooser Sessions
  • Smoother Android Migrations
  • PDF Document Annotation and Editing
  • Display Topology API
  • Device-aware ViewConfiguration
  • Granular Haptic Feedback Control
  • Quick Settings Tile Categories API

• Media & Audio
  • IAMF Decoding Support
  • Personal Audio Sharing in Output Switcher
  • New AAudio APIs
  • HDR/SDR Brightness Slider
  • Companion Device Management Enhancements
  • MediaRouter Network Privacy Improvements

• Privacy & Security
  • Advanced Protection support for USB
  • Local parental controls
  • Secure Lock Device
  • Phone Theft Protection Toggle
  • Identity Check expanded to support more apps

• Developer Productivity
  • Graphical apps support in the Linux Terminal
  • Widget Engagement Metrics
  • Early Warnings for 16KB Page Size Compatibility
  • Enhanced Profiling
  • More Robust Multi-Display Testing

Apart from the new developer APIs, which Samsung is guaranteed to incorporate, the company will pick and choose which new user-facing features to include. While we hope they’ll add things like forced icon theming and lock screen widget support, they might choose not to, since they already have their own versions of these features. We’ll have to wait for Samsung to officially introduce One UI 8.5 to see exactly which features they’ve decided to keep and which to cut.