SEOUL, April 14, 2026, 23:05 KST
- Samsung’s One UI 8.5 beta is now reaching older Galaxy phones in select markets, extending the rollout beyond the Galaxy S26 cycle.
- Quick Share is gaining AirDrop-style support, but Samsung still says current AirDrop availability is on the Galaxy S26 series.
- The broader push comes as Samsung leans harder on software and AI in a weaker smartphone market.
Samsung is pushing its One UI 8.5 beta onto older Galaxy devices, with the Galaxy S23 FE now live in India and other rollouts surfacing in South Korea, widening access to its latest mobile software beyond the newest handsets. Officially, Samsung said last week the beta was expanding to the Galaxy S23 lineup, Galaxy Z Fold5, Galaxy Z Flip5, Galaxy S23 FE and Galaxy A36 5G in a phased rollout.
The timing matters because One UI 8.5 is Samsung’s current test version before general release, and the company is using it to bring more of its AI, privacy and ecosystem features to older devices. Samsung also updated its Try Galaxy app on Tuesday so users can preview Galaxy S26 software and Galaxy AI features on their current phones before deciding whether to buy new hardware.
That push comes as the market gets tougher. Counterpoint said global smartphone shipments fell 6% in the first quarter of 2026, with Samsung’s shipments also down 6% year on year, while Omdia analyst Sheng Win Chow wrote Samsung needs to “expand its software footprint” as AI-driven services increasingly shape value. Counterpoint Research
Samsung’s published April 9 list names the Galaxy S23, S23+, S23 Ultra, S23 FE, Z Fold5, Z Flip5 and A36 5G, with the A36 singled out as the first A-series model in that expansion. Availability is uneven: Fold5 and Flip5 are limited to Korea and the United States, A36 is India-only for now, and users must enroll through Samsung Members.
Since then, the live rollout has widened further. SamMobile said the S23 FE beta in India carries firmware version S711BXXUEZZD5, runs about 3.6 GB and includes Samsung’s April 2026 security patch; the same site said the A35 beta has gone live in India and South Korea, while Android Authority reported first builds hitting the A55, Fold5 and Flip5 in South Korea, citing public posts and Samsung community sightings. Samsung has not separately updated its April 9 published device list to include those additional A-series reports.
The headline feature is Quick Share, Samsung’s file-sharing tool, which is picking up AirDrop-style transfers to Apple devices. Samsung linked that feature to its collaboration with Android, but a footnote it published — and highlighted by Droid-Life — says AirDrop availability is still “currently” on the Galaxy S26 series, even as older models enter the One UI 8.5 beta. Samsung Global Newsroom
The software pitch goes beyond file transfers. In February, Samsung COO Won-Joon Choi said the company redesigned Bixby for “more natural interactions and intuitive device control,” and last week Jisun Park, Samsung’s head of language AI, said the assistant is meant to become the “primary entry point” for Samsung products. Samsung Global Newsroom
Taken together, the move suggests Samsung is going after an Apple convenience — easy local file sharing — while leaning on Google’s Android base and its own AI layer to keep Galaxy owners inside the Samsung ecosystem. That matters more now because Apple led the first quarter for the first time, according to Counterpoint, and Samsung is openly using Try Galaxy to let even non-Galaxy users sample its newest software before purchase.
But the wider beta does not settle the biggest question: how much of the S26 experience older phones will actually get. Samsung’s notes say AirDrop timing may vary by market, and its beta documentation warns that test software can include bugs, missing features and unexpected data loss.
For now, Samsung is broadening access in stages, not all at once. Older Galaxy users are getting closer to One UI 8.5, but access is still staggered by device, country and feature — and some of the clearest reasons to upgrade remain tied to the Galaxy S26 line.
