A sneak peek at One UI 8.5 on the Galaxy S23 Ultra: What’s In and What’s Out

Samsung is now testing its next big phone software update, called One UI 8.5, on the older Galaxy S23 Ultra device. We know this because the update was recently listed on Samsung’s official software server. It looks like the update will bring many new tools to the phone, and we’ve already gotten our first look at it through a video.

A technology website called SamMobile managed to get an early test version of One UI 8.5 and install it on their Galaxy S23 Ultra. They released a video showing us exactly what the future software is like. The video highlights several features that have been added and also points out a few important things that are still missing.

The New Stuff We Can See

When the Galaxy S23 series eventually gets the One UI 8.5 update, users will find several fresh improvements. For instance, you will have more control over customizing the Quick Panel (the screen that drops down from the top). Also, the basic apps that come pre-installed on the phone have a new, modern appearance, and the main Settings menu has been completely rebuilt.

Samsung has also made design improvements to important areas like the DeX mode and the main Camera application. Inside the Camera app, the option from the Camera Assistant that lets you “save photos to external storage” has been moved to the main camera settings page. The professional photo mode and professional video mode both now have a cleaner, easier-to-use screen layout.

In a pleasant surprise, the “Single Take” feature is supported in this software build, which is notable because it was removed from the first public test version of the update.

The redesign extends to the menus, which now look much tidier. They removed the small headings that separated sections, and the search button for settings has been moved to the bottom of the screen for easier reach. The page that checks your phone’s battery and overall health, known as Battery and Device Care, has also been updated on the S23 Ultra.

A new Photo Assist tool is included and comes with a helpful history function. This means that if you are editing a picture, you can easily go back to an earlier version if you don’t like the changes you just made.

What Is Not Ready Yet

Since this is an unfinished test version of the software, some tools are not working yet. These include advanced features like editing photos simply by typing what you want to change, using image clips, and the new Call Assistant feature.

Important Missing Features

There are still a few key features that Samsung has yet to add to the Galaxy S23 series in this One UI 8.5 update. These expected features include the “Log Video” recording mode in the camera, the Health Assist tool, the “Now Brief” part of Galaxy AI, the “Audio Eraser” in the Gallery app, and the new weather features that use artificial intelligence.