Galaxy S25 gets direct voicemail with new One UI 8.5 beta update

Samsung released the fourth One UI 8.5 beta update for the Galaxy S25 series just moments ago. In addition to bug fixes and reliability improvements, the new beta update appears to introduce the Direct Voicemail feature to eligible flagship Galaxy phones.

So, what is Direct Voicemail? When you receive a call but cannot answer it, the caller can leave a voice message on your phone. Think of it as a voicemail feature that is typically offered by telecom carriers. However, Samsung’s Direct Voicemail works regardless of the carrier you use, since the phone itself records the voicemail.

In the screenshot above, Samsung explains how the Direct Voicemail feature works. You can manually trigger voicemail for the caller on your phone or set it to start automatically after a few seconds. While the caller is leaving a voice message, you can still receive other calls. You can also listen to the recorded message in the Phone app.

As the caller records a voice message, you can view a live text transcription on your screen. The Direct Voicemail feature does not work with video calls.