Samsung's One UI 8.5 beta: Big upgrade for Galaxy S25 users
Samsung recently released the One UI 8.5 beta for Galaxy S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra, rolling out since December in the US, India, and more.
The headline? A major kernel jump from version 6.6.77 to 6.6.98—skipping over two dozen updates at once.
What's new under the hood
According to Ice Universe, an early tester, the update makes everything feel smoother: better touch response, better animations, and a generally more fluid experience all around.
Bugs squashed and fixes added
Samsung's been busy fixing stuff too—recent betas have patched lock screen clock glitches, laggy Gallery Live Effects, issues with Favorites in the Phone app, Now Briefing display bugs, and random battery drain.
How to try it (and what's next)
If you've got a Galaxy S25 series phone, you can join the beta free through Samsung Members right now.
The stable One UI 8.5 will officially launch with Galaxy S26 later this year—and another beta update is already coming next week with all these improvements included.