One UI 8.5 may come with a refreshed interface
Shortly after the One UI 8.5 firmware was spotted on Samsung’s servers, a developer managed to modify the build initially meant for the Galaxy S25 Ultra and run it on a Galaxy S21 Plus. The result is the first images of One UI 8.5 in action, which were shared by SammyGuru and reveal the refreshed UI design.
One of the images shows the Settings menu with more compact items without subtitles. A major change is that the search bar is now at the bottom, making it much more easily accessible. Both the top and the bottom have an overflow gradient, and all the containers and the search bar have drop shadows.
Entering the search page shows various categories in a three-column grid. Once you’re inside a menu in Settings, you’ll see the back button floating over the content with its own drop shadow, which appears similar to some of the UI elements in iOS 26. The container inside the menu also has a drop shadow, which makes it appear elevated above the background.
Don’t expect One UI 8.5 on your phone anytime soon
What the final changes to the software may be is yet unclear, but it is interesting that Samsung already seems inspired by the recently released iOS 26. Hopefully, the company will also get inspired by Apple’s release strategy and release the software quickly and for many devices.
That’s a good sign from Samsung
The surprisingly good part of that leak is that it confirms Samsung’s commitment never to repeat the delays of the One UI 7 release. I don’t expect the company to suddenly start releasing software on a perfect schedule, but even slight delays would be a big improvement.
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