Last updated: April 9th, 2026 at 11:07 UTC+02:00
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The brand wasn't expected to expand it to the Galaxy A36.
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Abhijeet Mishra / SamMobile
Samsung debuted its latest Android customisation for Galaxy smartphones, One UI 8.5 (Android 16 QPR2), by releasing its beta version for the Galaxy S25 series. Later, the brand expanded the beta program for the new software to additional devices.
Interestingly, over the past few days, we have come across several discoveries suggesting that Samsung may extend the program to even more phones, including the Galaxy S23 series, Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5, Galaxy A56, and Galaxy A36.
While the possibility of Samsung opening the One UI 8.5 beta program for the Galaxy S, Galaxy Z, and Galaxy A5x models seemed plausible—given that these are premium devices and the brand has previously offered beta versions of new software to such phones—the company extending it to the Galaxy A36 seemed far-fetched, as Samsung has done so only on rare occasions.
To our surprise, however, the company is being unusually generous with One UI 8.5.
Samsung has opened the One UI 8.5 beta program for the Galaxy A36 in India, and that's the only market where the beta will be available for this phone. The update brings the first beta build of the new software is 2,507.71MB in size and carries the firmware version A366EXXU8ZZD2.
To get the beta version of One UI 8.5 on your Galaxy A36, you will first have to register your device. You can do that by opening the Samsung Members app, tapping the banner for the beta version of the new software for your device, and tapping on it.
Once registered, go to Settings > Software update > Download and install, where you should see the new update available for your device.
One UI 8.5 brings a host of changes and upgrades. You can watch our video below to know the key new things it offers.
I’m a computer science engineer living in Hyderabad, India, who has a keen interest in automobiles and consumer electronics. My journalism career kicked off in 2017 with MySmartPrice where I wrote news, features, buying guides, and explanatory articles about technology among other things, and reviewed many products, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, PC components, smartwatches, audio devices, wearables, and smart home products. Since then, I have worked for 91Mobiles, Apple, and Onsitego, before finally landing on SamMobile.
