Samsung has recently started to roll out the stable One UI 8.5 update globally. It is now available for over a dozen Galaxy devices, with more to receive it in the coming days and weeks. Whether you have received the update or are still waiting for it, don’t miss these five upgrades that turn One UI 8.5 from a mere incremental upgrade into a truly useful upgrade.
1. Quick Panel receives its biggest upgrade in years
Quick Panel has received numerous upgrades in recent years, but this one is big, especially for those who like customization. One UI 8.5 removes almost all restrictions on Quick Panel customizations, allowing users to drag, resize, and remove any slider, toggle, or widget.
You can even change the sliders from standard bars to vertical bars. Further, major interface widgets like media player, brightness sliders, and volume sliders can be shrunk or expanded.
For comparison, One UI 8.0 only allows reordering specific sections. It doesn’t even let us remove or reposition Smart View and Device Control tiles. One UI 8.5 offers absolute freedom to customize the Quick Panel as you need. You can even remove all sections and tiles for a completely blank layout.
Related: One UI 8.5 stable update is available for these Galaxy devices
2. Floating tab bar gives modern aesthetics
One UI 8.5 replaces the traditional bottom navigation bar with a modern pill-shaped UI element, officially called the “Floating tab bar.” It’s a compact element with translucent matte appearance and a smooth gradient blur.
Unlike the previous navigation bar, the floating tab bar is detached from the edges of the screen. It appears to dynamically float directly above the on-screen content, offering a premium aesthetic and improved one-handed reachability.
Samsung offers a floating tab bar UI across many of its first-party applications, including Phone, Gallery, and Samsung TV Plus. Third-party developers have also started integrating the modern floating bar into their apps, pushing towards a unified user experience.
3. Galaxy AI becomes a lot more useful
Samsung phones offer the best AI experience, and it only keeps getting better with each upgrade. The latest software, One UI 8.5, adds the “Call screening” feature within Call Assist. It can automatically pick up calls and ask the caller why they’re calling.
Even if the AI picks up the call, you can still talk to the caller any time, or switch to the Text call. This is a great way to filter spam calls, and also helps avoid unnecessary calls when you’re busy.
One UI 8.5 also features an upgraded Photo Assist, which lets users edit photos with AI without needing to save each iteration. And there’s a history button at the top-right corner to see past generations. The Sketch to image feature has also been replaced with a more versatile Create tab, which lets you change backgrounds or add objects using descriptive text prompts rather than drawing them.
Unfortunately, Galaxy AI is limited to a small subset of Galaxy devices, particularly the high-end phones released in recent years. That’s because of hardware limitations.
4. Seamless file sharing with Apple devices via AirDrop support
One UI 8.5 finally removes the file sharing complexities that have existed between Android and Apple devices for years by making Quick Share compatible with Apple’s AirDrop. So, you can now seamlessly share files with Apple devices in a few easy clicks.
To enable this new feature, navigate to Settings > Connected devices > Quick Share and enable Share with Apple devices. When you want to share a file, go to Settings > AirDrop on your Apple device, tap Everyone for 10 minutes, then start sending files.
5. More lock screen customizations
One UI 8.0 already offers rich lock-screen customization, but it has just gone a level up with One UI 8.5. The new software automatically adjusts the placement of people and pets around the clock and widgets for a perfect fit. You can now also preview and apply live weather effects directly from the wallpaper preview screen.
If you’re still waiting for the One UI 8.5 update, go to Settings > Software updates > Download and install to manually check the status. Anyway, you can visit the Samsung section regularly for the latest details, or join our Telegram channel to get instant alerts.
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