Overview
- Samsung broadened its One UI 8.5 test on Thursday to the Galaxy S23 family, Z Fold5, Z Flip5, S23 FE and the mid-range Galaxy A36, marking the first A-series phone in this beta program.
- Availability is staggered by country, with S23 models in India, South Korea, the UK and the US, Fold5 and Flip5 in the US and Korea, and the A36 limited to India.
- The S23 build arrives as firmware S911xXXU9ZZD5 at roughly 4.16GB and includes the April 2026 security patch, which outlets note addresses dozens of vulnerabilities.
- AirDrop compatibility through Quick Share now reaches devices on select One UI 8.5 betas, including the Galaxy S25 and S24 lines and recent foldables, while the S25 FE’s new Beta 2 in Korea mirrors S25 Beta 9 changes with AirDrop support, three new camera filters and fixes for Bluetooth drops, screen flicker and notification UI.
- Users enroll through the Samsung Members app and then install via Settings, though Samsung and reviewers caution that beta software can introduce bugs, battery drain and app issues even as it delivers new features sooner.