Samsung Galaxy S25 owners in the United States are now eligible for the One UI 8.5 update. Originally released for more recent models, the software is extending to last year's Galaxy S25 series with a compelling array of upgrades and refinements.

Multiple users on X have confirmed the update hitting their Galaxy S25 devices. If you own one, head to your settings menu under software updates to check for and install the latest version right away.

New Additions in One UI 8.5

One UI 8.5 delivers fresh features alongside polished interface tweaks. The standout change affects the quick settings panel, allowing users to drag, resize, and rearrange toggles at will. Volume and brightness sliders now support vertical layouts, while media controls can expand for improved usability.

The lock screen sees enhancements as well, including animated clock fonts and a slider for adjusting thickness to personalize the display. A new weather toggle overlays lively animations on the wallpaper - a charming, subtle improvement.

AI-powered photo editing gets a boost with tools like Erase for precise object removal, Move for repositioning elements within images, Create for generating objects from sketches via AI, and Style for turning selfies into stylized cartoons.

Features Absent from Older Devices

Galaxy S25 models are gaining One UI 8.5, but the rollout comes with caveats. Several key features available on newer hardware are missing from these older phones.

Korean Samsung community forums have highlighted as many as nine exclusions, led by Now Nudge and 24MP camera mode. Additional absences encompass Notification Highlights, the Home Screen Finder shortcut, Samsung Browser's Ask AI capability, and others.

These withheld elements do not seem reliant on Galaxy S26 hardware capabilities. Instead, they reflect Samsung's strategy of feature restrictions to incentivize upgrades to fresh devices.

I regularly call out Apple for limiting advanced camera functions to the newest iPhones. Samsung now mirrors this approach - and takes it even further.