Last updated: May 29th, 2026 at 16:19 UTC+02:00
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Samsung’s update promise isn’t changing, but One UI updates may be.
Reading time: 5 minutes
Abhijeet Mishra / SamMobile
One UI 8.5 started rolling out to a wide range of Galaxy devices from May 6, 2026. Samsung took a while to get things going, but once the official rollout kicked off, the company quickly brought it to everything from the most expensive phones to the most affordable ones launched in 2023 and later.
What about devices launched before 2023? Owners of flagship devices like the Galaxy S22, Galaxy Z Fold 4, Galaxy Z Flip 4 and mid-range phones like the Galaxy A33 and Galaxy A53 have been wondering if they would receive One UI 8.5.
Most people have assumed they would, as Samsung has historically rolled out every subsequent point One UI release based on a particular version of Android before ending support for devices once they receive their final major Android OS upgrade.
But things may be changing this year, and it’s highly likely flagships like the Galaxy S22 and other devices that launched in 2022 will not get One UI 8.5, even though they got the Android 16-based One UI 8 update.
Samsung did start developing the One UI 8.5 update for devices like the Galaxy S22, which was confirmed by new test firmware that appeared on the company’s servers. However, Samsung seems to have halted development sometime in early April.
For example, the last One UI 8.5 test build for the Galaxy S22’s European variant showed up in the first week of April. After that, we have only seen the usual monthly security updates, based on Android 16 and One UI 8, on Samsung’s servers.
Then there’s Samsung Germany’s press release about the official One UI 8.5 rollout. It noted in the announcement that the One UI 8.5 update would come to flagship devices as far back as the Galaxy S23 and to the last three generations of A series.
Samsung Germany didn’t explicitly say these would be the only devices to get it. But it’s still good evidence for the possibility that One UI 8.5 is not coming to older phones, when combined with the evidence that development on One UI 8.5 for these pre-2023 devices appears to have stopped sometime in April 2026.
In previous years, porting One UI 6.1, for instance, to an older phone was relatively simple because it shared the exact same core code foundation as One UI 6.0 (Android 14). The same applied to One UI 6.1.1 or One UI 5.1.
One UI 8.5, however, is based on Android 16 QPR2 instead of the original Android 16 release used for One UI 8.0. QPR2 is a newer branch of Android 16 that includes additional platform changes, updated APIs, and newer developer tools.
Even though both releases are technically Android 16, One UI 8.5 behaves less like a traditional feature update and more like a newer Android platform.
That may also explain why Samsung appears to be limiting One UI 8.5 to newer devices. Compared to previous One UI x.1 or x.1.1 releases, bringing One UI 8.5 to older phones may require more development and testing to ensure everything runs properly.
Samsung is already supporting newer flagship phones for up to seven years and many mid-range devices for up to six years. With such a large number of devices now requiring long-term support, dedicating additional resources to older phones that have already received their promised Android OS upgrades may no longer make as much sense as it did in previous years.
It is important to remember that Samsung isn’t breaking its word here. For devices like the Galaxy S22, Galaxy Z Fold 4, and Galaxy A53, the company technically completed its promise of four generations of major Android OS upgrades when it delivered Android 16 (One UI 8.0).
Mid-cycle updates like One UI 8.5 were always a nice-to-have bonus, not a contractual obligation. Up until now, Samsung made a habit of giving us these updates as a parting gift, but it seems things are changing now.
Does this mean Samsung will treat these Android QPR releases as separate Android versions when counting how many major OS upgrades it offers to devices like the Galaxy S24, S25, or S26?
That’s not likely. Samsung’s software update policy uses very specific phrasing: it promises a certain number of OS generations. Samsung defines an OS generation based on the major Android version, not on interim platform variations or QPR-based updates.
So a Galaxy S23, for example, will eventually get Android 17, or One UI 9.0. What may happen is that Samsung won’t provide it with the One UI 9.5 update, which will presumably be based on Android 17 QPR2 instead of the original Android 17 release.
These QPR-based updates may essentially become the point where Samsung decides whether it still makes sense to continue bringing newer One UI versions to devices that have already received their promised number of Android OS upgrades.
A simple rule of thumb is to check whether your device is eligible for Android 17. If Android 16 is the final major OS upgrade for your phone or tablet, there’s a good chance One UI 8.5 will not arrive for it, though there might be exceptions.
Of course, Samsung hasn’t officially confirmed this policy. But based on the devices currently included in the One UI 8.5 rollout and the apparent halt in development for older models, it’s most likely that only devices eligible for Android 17 will get One UI 8.5.
Abhijeet's writing career started with guides for custom firmware for Samsung devices (including the original Galaxy S), and he moved to SamMobile in mid-2013 and worked up the ranks to Editor-in-chief. In addition to phones and mobile devices, his interests include gaming on both PC and console, PC hardware, and spending countless hours on YouTube watching videos on tech, movies, games, politics, and internet dramas.
