Samsung phased out the Galaxy S22 series (and some others) from a major software update rollout, and we hope the Galaxy S23 series won’t meet the same fate in 2027.

Galaxy S22, S22+, and S22 Ultra aren’t getting the One UI 8.5 update, and they will spend their remaining life on One UI 8.0. Both versions are based on Android 16, but the difference in QPR versions is the primary culprit.

Well, Samsung has provided One UI 8.5 to a $200 smartphone as well, so it doesn’t mean that one is better than the Galaxy S22 flagships in 2026.

Samsung Galaxy S23 shouldn’t be the next S22 in 2027

Samsung has already disappointed millions of users of the Galaxy S22 series. One UI 8.5 upgrade is bigger than the One UI 8.0, which would have elevated the user experience in multiple ways, not limited to the user interface.

The Galaxy S23 series is eligible for the Android 17-based One UI 9.0 upgrade. The Beta Program of this software is already live in 6 countries. Design-wise, the software has no major upgrades as the focus is on overall refinements.

The company is reportedly testing One UI 9 for Galaxy S23 series internally. A previous leak suggested that the Galaxy S27 series will launch with One UI 9.5. That said, the next x.5 software is slated for launch in 2027 as well.

Samsung may continue its strategy of basing One UI on Android QPR versions. If the 2026 method is retained in 2027, the One UI 9.0 will ship with Android 17 QPR1 atop, while One UI 9.5 could be based on the QPR2 version.

Like the S22 series become ineligible for the last One UI upgrade, Samsung shouldn’t do it for the S23 series in 2027. The 2023 flagships have an even larger consumer base than the 2022 models, and it will also be extremely upsetting.

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Your Samsung phone has two great features to safeguard your data and privacy under the Theft Protection section. This intelligent feature kit provides a necessary shield to your Galaxy phone in case it gets stolen while you use it.

Think you are roaming outside and using your phone for surfing or attending an important phone call. You suddenly come to know that someone snatched your device from your hands, leaving you shocked at the moment.

Smartphones are no longer just communication devices. They have become a crucial part of our lives as they store credentials, digital keys, banking apps, and digital identity. Losing the phone means you are losing almost everything you digitized.

Samsung phones have a Theft Detection feature, but it must be enabled manually. When enabled, it ensures your phone locks itself if a possible theft is detected. It has been designed brilliantly and works the way it should.

Smartphone theft can happen unexpectedly, but taking a few minutes to enable Theft Protection can help safeguard your data and privacy.

The suite of these intelligent security tools can automatically lock your Samsung smartphone when theft is detected, lock a phone when it goes offline for an extended period, and even allow users to remotely lock their device.

Technically, Theft Detection Lock can identify motion patterns commonly associated with theft, such as a device being suddenly snatched away from a user. If suspicious activity is detected, the smartphone screen automatically locks.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to enable the Theft Detection feature:

Step 1: Open Settings and tap Security and privacy
Step 2: Tap Lost device protection
Step 3: Select Theft protection
Step 4: Tap Theft Detection Lock
Step 5: Tap Turn on
Step 6: Tap Offline Device Lock
Step 7: Tap Turn on
Step 8: Tap Remote Lock and select Use Remote Lock to enable the feature

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Thanks to the AI momentum, Samsung has just surpassed Bitcoin in terms of market value. Samsung Electronics is sitting at a $1.522 trillion market cap while Bitcoin is at $1.276 trillion; it is a $246 billion gap, and it has widened fast.

The KOSPI cracked 9,000 intraday for the first time ever, dragging semiconductor stocks higher while Bitcoin quietly bled out. SEDaily reports that Samsung climbed to 12th among global assets, while Bitcoin slipped to 15th.

Samsung surpassed Bitcoin on November 1, then lost ground after shares cratered on November 8. Meanwhile, AI chip demand and high-bandwidth memory optimism have since pulled Samsung back ahead.

The gap isn’t shrinking

MarketWatch columnist Mark Hulbert ran the numbers on a fair-value model and surfaced something brutal: Bitcoin converging around $120,000 by 2140 implies an expected annual return of roughly 0.6% over 120 years.

Apart from this, SK Hynix is also running up 6.51% in a single session, its market value reached $1.248 trillion, placing it just $28 billion behind Bitcoin at 16th globally.

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Samsung’s System LSI division just delivered its best-ever first-quarter revenue. Sounds like great news, right? But there’s a catch – the company still expects to end the full year with losses in this part of its chip business.

President Park Yong-in recently talked about the challenges. He said Samsung needs bigger structural changes because demand is soft in several key areas. Even with strong memory (HBM) chip sales, thanks to AI demand, the non-memory side (foundry and System LSI) continues to struggle.

“We achieved the highest level of sales in the first quarter of this year” Park said at the briefing. Park said, “The System-on-Chip (SoC) business is difficult to convert into a surplus in the short term, but we will strive to improve the business body and improve profitability.” “We will create an environment where structural problems can be solved by management and members can focus on technology.”

The one chance? Development of the next flagship Exynos 2700 processor is moving along steadily. Samsung is expected to use it in the next Galaxy S-series phones.

Samsung is clearly treating its foundry business (making chips for other companies) and System LSI (mobile processors and more) as key parts for the entire company.

What’s the real issue? The mobile SoC market is super competitive, and AI demand has not helped every segment the same way. While memory chips are printing money, fixing the logic and foundry side will take serious time and effort.

For long-term success, Samsung is trying to balance its memory and non-memory chip businesses. Investors are watching closely to see if these changes start delivering real results soon.

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Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 is still weeks away from its official unveiling, but the Android 17 release handed us a feature demo. The new OS went live on Pixel devices yesterday, and a significant chunk of what it does is built specifically for foldables.

Since the Galaxy Z Flip 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8, and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra launch with One UI 9 on top of Android 17, what you’re seeing on Pixel right now is a preview of what’s landing on Samsung’s most premium device next month.

Foldable Gaming Mode

Google built a dedicated gaming mode into Android 17 for foldables. It splits the inner display 50/50 game on the top half, with virtual gamepad controls on the bottom.

The gaming mode isn’t fully live yet, even on Pixel. Google confirmed it’s arriving via OTA in the coming months. Given the Fold 8 launches in late July, Samsung has time to ship One UI 9 with this already in place. Timing works in their favour.

Multitasking bubbles

The biggest new thing in Android 17 is Bubbles, a system-wide floating window mode. Long-press any app icon, and it opens as a resizable overlay on top of whatever you’re already doing.

Google says it’s useful for keeping maps, notes, or a sports score up while you work in another app. Combined with the inner display real estate on the Fold 8, Bubbles turns the phone into something that starts closing the gap with a desktop setup.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is widely expected on July 22 at Unpacked in London, shipping out of the box with One UI 9 on Android 17. Samsung has confirmed that the stable One UI 9 release on new foldables will include advanced AI features.

Hardware upgrades on the Fold 8 are substantial: a 200MP main sensor, 5,000mAh battery, 45W charging, and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. The software story is just as important this cycle, and Android 17 makes a real case for it.

Everything Google showed off on Pixel yesterday is what Samsung could be selling next month.

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Samsung has launched a Spidey Tracker to track Spider-Man’s whereabouts and immerse fans in the world of the Spider-Man: Brand New Day movie premiering on July 31.

This tool is developed by the character Ned Leeds, who uses the Galaxy Z Fold device to track Spider-Man as he moves throughout the movie. What’s interesting is that the tracker is no longer exclusive to the movie; it is now available for Spider-Man fans across the globe.

This new interactive Spidey Tracker provides fans a way to experience real world campaing that includes cast appearances and interviews, spotlighting live activations, content drops, hidden easter eggs, and fan-submitted sightings.

Fans follow Spider-Man sightings and interact with the story in real-time while sharing the same experience with the community.

Samsung has also announced that the latest Galaxy Z Fold and Flip smartphones will be featured inside the movie, along with the Galaxy Watch, to showcase their multitasking and spider-man tracking skills.

“Unfolding online and in real-world spaces throughout the summer, see Spidey pop up on the map, at live events and venues, popular creator videos, and maybe even a Samsung Experience Store — keep your eyes peeled!” wrote Samsung.

How to access the Samsung Spidey tracker?

You can go to SpidyTracker.com to interact with this tool. Samsung has confirmed that the tool is available in 35 countries.

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On June 16, Samsung pushed the third One UI 9 Beta update with 9 big bug fixes. In particular, Samsung has included new camera focus improvements for Galaxy S26 users, specifically targeting the 30x digital zoom shots.

Galaxy S26 phones come with 30x zoom support, with the Ultra camera going up to 100x. Users mostly rely on 1x and 2x for everyday shots and 5x for distant photography. 30x is a digital zoom range offered by the telephoto camera sensor.

New camera focus improvements for 30x zoom

The One UI 9 Beta 3 update changelog specifically mentions “improved focus accuracy when using 30x camera zoom.” The improvements are included in the Beta update, so the availability is limited to Beta participants in six countries.

Samsung Camera activates focus lock after a certain zoom range. It appears on the screen as a Yellow padlock, ensuring minimal shake during shots. You get enough support to tap the shutter and capture the image on your phone.

Your Galaxy phone’s camera will now focus more accurately on distant objects. The real enhancements can be experienced when magnified to 30x. Improved focus will result in clearer shots with better colors and details.

One UI 9 Beta 3 Update

The third Beta update weighs around 1.8GB, a huge one. It’s nearly three times larger than the second Beta build and a little smaller than the first full version. The massive size suggests that Samsung has included more than just fixes.

It’s a great development for Beta users who have enrolled their phones in the Program. They are helping Samsung perfect the Galaxy experience for millions of users. The faster the bugs will be erased, the earlier the Stable rollout kicks off.

One UI 9 official version will launch with the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Flip 8, and Fold 8 Ultra in late July 2026.

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Samsung is now rolling out the June 2026 update to the Galaxy S25, S25+, S25 Edge, and S25 Ultra in more regions, bringing 3 new AI features from the latest Galaxy S26 series.

The update was initially released for Korean users last week. Samsung offered the AI-powered Notification highlights feature to last year’s flagship models. Notably, those tools were missing in the Stable One UI 8.5 update.

Here are the details of the newly added AI features, followed by the update’s availability status:

AI-powered Notification highlights

June update installs Galaxy S26-like Notification highlights tab in Galaxy S25 series devices. This page has two main notification handling tools along with a few supplementary settings/functions.

1 | Prioritise notifications

This feature uses Artificial Intelligence to smartly manage how notifications are displayed in the panel. The system is designed to push important notifications to the top of the page, even though there are newer alerts.

Notifications that are prioritised feature a separate glow-up appearance. It’s aimed at offering instant attention to the user and actually realizing the priority state.

2 | Summarise notifications

We use different apps and services for everyday communications, and they form a massive number of notifications. The Summarise notifications feature practically handles the overload of alerts and intelligently summarises them for you.

The feature, in the meantime, has some limitations, such as support for the device language only. Since it’s powered by AI, you should not solely rely on summaries, as it might deliver conflicting information for certain reasons.

3 | Summarise compatible files

Samsung has also updated its My Files app with a summarization feature. Found under the Settings of My Files, the Show file summaries feature offers AI-powered summaries of PDF and TXT files as well as recordings saved using Voice Recorder.

Availability

Initial rollout – June 11

• On June 11, Samsung started the June 2026 update rollout in South Korea, which came with PDA build version ending with CZF1 and weighing a lit lesser than a gigabyte.

USA, India, and Europe release – June 15

• Samsung starts expanding its feature-rich June 2026 update to users in the United States, India and Europe.
  • Build version – CZF1
  • Update size – Around 950 megabytes

The page will be updated with the next major expansion.

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Over the past few days, Samsung Galaxy S23 owners, including some on the S23+ and S23 Ultra, have been posting about a familiar but unwelcome visitor on their displays: thin green or pink vertical lines that show up out of nowhere.

Right on cue, every fresh round of Samsung software updates seems to bring its own little surprise, and the latest One UI 8.5 rollout is no exception.

The reports started surfacing on X and across Samsung’s own community forums, and by now there are enough of them that it’s hard to write this off as a handful of unlucky units.

One user shared a picture of his S23 Ultra’s screen with a bright green line running top to bottom, insisting the phone had no drops, no cracks, and no water exposure, just a software update that, in his words, turned a pink line into a green one within days. Another user reported the same thing on a Galaxy phone shortly after updating.

Owners in India are being quoted between INR 15,000 and INR 19,500 for an out-of-warranty screen replacement, while a similar repair in other markets is pegged at roughly $205.

This isn’t actually a new problem for Samsung. The “green line of death,” as some forum regulars half-jokingly call it, has been popping up on Galaxy phones for years now, going back to the Galaxy S20 series, with Plus model affected the most.

Samsung even ran free display replacement programs in India, regardless of warranty status, because the issue was tied to a hardware fault in the display panel rather than something a software patch could realistically cause on its own.

Repair technicians point toward the display’s flexible cable connectors or the panel driver itself. A new update doesn’t need to “cause” damage outright; it just needs to nudge an already-weakened part past its breaking point.

For now, this is very much a developing situation. We’ll update this piece if Samsung issues any kind of statement or offers free replacements.

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Samsung began the One UI 8.5 official rollout in mid-May in the Global market, after initially starting it in South Korea. Android 17-based One UI 9 Beta entered headlines quickly after the Stable release of One UI 8.5 started.

The Korean tech giant officially listed 44 Galaxy devices for the One UI 8.5 update. It included thirteen Galaxy S phones, nine Galaxy Z foldable phones, eleven Galaxy A mid-range and entry-level phones, and 11 Galaxy tablets.

Beyond the forty-four, several Samsung devices received the One UI 8.5 update. Device availability varies by market, which is the key reason Samsung doesn’t usually share a complete device list on its Global newsroom pages.

Longest Beta, quickest deployment

One UI 8.5 is one of the longest-running Beta Programs in Samsung’s history. It started in early December 2025 and wrapped in early May 2026. The company ran a Beta Program for about five months on the Galaxy S25 series.

Samsung shipped the Galaxy S26 series in mid-March, preinstalled with One UI 8.5. Even after the official debut, the software remained exclusive to the latest flagship phones for almost two months and helped retain sales momentum.

In early May, Samsung announced the Stable One UI 8.5 release, starting in Korea, which expanded to the global market on May 11. Millions of Galaxy users benefited from the new features and the quicker yet consistent expansion.

As of June 13, 2026, Samsung has completed the One UI 8.5 rollout for all the devices confirmed on the day of the official announcement.

Galaxy S Series

1. Galaxy S25
2. Galaxy S25+
3. Galaxy S25 Ultra
4. Galaxy S25 Edge
5. Galaxy S25 FE
6. Galaxy S24
7. Galaxy S24+
8. Galaxy S24 Ultra
9. Galaxy S24 FE
10. Galaxy S23
11. Galaxy S23+
12. Galaxy S23 Ultra
13. Galaxy S23 FE

Galaxy Z Series

1. Galaxy Z Fold 7
2. Galaxy Z Flip 7
3. Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE
4. Galaxy Z TriFold
5. Galaxy Z Fold 6
6. Galaxy Z Flip 6
7. Galaxy Z Fold 5
8. Galaxy Z Flip 5
9. Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition

Galaxy A Series

1. Galaxy A56
2. Galaxy A55
3. Galaxy A54
4. Galaxy A36
5. Galaxy A35
6. Galaxy A34
7. Galaxy A26
8. Galaxy A25
9. Galaxy A17
10. Galaxy A16
11. Galaxy A15

Galaxy Tab Series

1. Galaxy Tab S11
2. Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra
3. Galaxy Tab S10+
4. Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra
5. Galaxy Tab S10 FE
6. Galaxy Tab S10 FE+
7. Galaxy Tab S9
8. Galaxy Tab S9+
9. Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra
10. Galaxy Tab S9 FE
11. Galaxy Tab S9 FE+

One UI 8.5 rollout is still going for the remaining models (and countries). Samsung’s every eligible device for the new software is expected to receive it (everywhere) by the end of June 2026.

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Samsung phones have had Secure Folder for years, while the One UI 8.5 brings a new Private Album feature. The new addition is totally different from Secure Folder and allows users to privately save their photos and videos.

The new Private Album feature is designed for convenience, allowing you to protect sensitive content without needing to move files to third-party applications.

Samsung’s Secure Folder and Private Album are different

Secure Folder functions as an entirely isolated, encrypted sandbox environment within the device. It lets users store not just media, but also apps, documents, files, and separate accounts.

Take it as a separate space inside your phone that acts like a clean phone. You can install apps and run them in the native view and have double accounts for almost every app.

Private Album is a new feature launched with One UI 8.5 that lets you store personal photos and videos in a protected space within the Galaxy Gallery app.

It allows you to hide specific content, including photos, videos, and screenshots, right from the Samsung Gallery app, adding a seamless layer of privacy.

That said, the Samsung Private Album is specifically developed to quickly hide photos and videos directly inside the native Gallery app, offering fast access and streamlined protection for media.

How to set up a Private Album?

• Open the Gallery app.
• Tap the Menu.
• Select Private Album.
• Follow the on-screen setup instructions.
• Tap Screen Lock and select your preferred security method.
• Set your notification preferences and tap Done to finish.

Private Album is available in non-One UI 8.5 devices too, but the setup is a bit tricky.

• Samsung Gallery has 4 hidden features; #1 is the big one

How to hide photos and videos?

• Open the Gallery app.
• Select the photos or videos.
• Tap More.
• Select Move to Private Album and confirm.

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Samsung dropped a completely new set of icons with One UI 7.0. Since then, the company has been making minor tweaks to the components. One UI 8.5 marks a major step toward taking the design of app icons to the next level. Design-wise, the icons remain largely unchanged from One UI 8.0, but the revamp comes from the three-dimensional (3D) appearance.

There is a specific kind of change in Android UI design that takes a while to fully register. You open your phone, swipe through the home screen, and something feels different, not broken, just unmistakably more refined. That is exactly the sensation Samsung has engineered into One UI 8.5, and once you see it side by side with One UI 8.0, you cannot unsee it.

The app icons in One UI 8.5 are not just prettier. They represent a foundational rethink of how Samsung wants its software to feel.

Samsung One UI 8.5 rewrites design rules for App Icons

One UI 7.0 introduced a cleaner, more geometric approach to icons, stripping away the excess detail and opting for bold, simplified shapes.

When One UI 8.0 arrived, it kept that same visual framework entirely intact. No meaningful changes to icon shape, shading, or depth.

One UI 8.5 – The shift to three dimensions

Where One UI 8.0 icons sit flat against the home screen, One UI 8.5 icons, specifically the inner (supporting) components, carry shadows, curves, and gradients that give them a subtle but unmistakable three-dimensional quality.

Look at the difference between the two versions of any stock Samsung app.

The Calculator icon in One UI 8.0 is clean and flat, with a sharp division between its black and green segments. In One UI 8.5, the same icon gains a softness at the edges, a curvature that suggests form.

The Contacts icon, the Browser icon, and the Settings gear, each one in One UI 8.5, look as though they could be physically picked up off the screen.

Samsung has carefully calibrated this three-dimensional design. The depth is implied rather than literal, shadows are subtle, and radiants are purposeful rather than decorative. The result is icons that feel premium and modern rather than trying too hard.

The effect is visible in a cleaner way in the Themed icons. The dynamic coloring scheme aligns all the app icons based on the color palette. The application is impressively fine, and the 3D appearance is prettier.

Third-party app icons in One UI 8.5 also benefit from the same depth-enhancing treatment. This is important because nothing breaks a design system faster than a mismatched grid of icons.

The icon overhaul is part of a larger design philosophy shift in One UI 8.5 toward what Samsung is building around a Frosted Glass aesthetic.

This matters for how the phone feels to use day to day. Aesthetics in software influence perception of speed, quality, and intent. A user interface that looks premium creates the expectation of premium performance.

The jump from One UI 8.0 to One UI 8.5 on the icon front is a philosophical repositioning.

You may like:

• 16 big Samsung Clock app changes in One UI 8.5

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Galaxy users are missing one useful Camera Scan feature in their phones, and Samsung appears to be reviewing its relaunch. Samsung updates are not always beneficial, as they bring functional changes that sometimes degrade the user experience.

The same happened to the native Camera Scan feature.

Select Galaxy phones have removed the instant sharing feature tied to Camera Scan, and Samsung is aware of it. The company’s moderator responded to user comments and dropped a satisfactory answer in the community.

Samsung Camera and Gallery come with a Scan feature, offered as the “Yellow T” icon. The icon appears whenever the camera or gallery detects a copyable text file in real-time camera viewfinder or gallery preview.

Tapping the icon triggers the system to recognize text in the picture and allows users to save a scanned file. Previously, this feature had an instant sharing feature that didn’t require users to save a file in the Gallery and then share.

Just tap the T icon, let the system recognize visible text content, like an optical character reader, and offer the sharing button immediately.

Camera Scan isn’t a heavily used feature for all; it is for many. Users rely on the Samsung Camera app for their frequent requirements. The removal of the instant scan feature has added an additional step for the same task.

Samsung’s camera moderator confirmed to have “forwarded the suggestion regarding the scan draft saving feature to the relevant department.” A comprehensive review will be conducted to explore the relaunch of the feature in the future.

It seems the shift is caused by a Samsung Gallery and Camera app update. One UI 8.5 is the latest official release, and some models have this feature. Meanwhile, Galaxy S phones are on One UI 8.0, lacking the instant sharing button.

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