Samsung launches the One UI 8 beta for Galaxy S25 phones – here's how you can get it

• The One UI 8 beta is live now in certain countries
• Galaxy S25 phones are the first devices eligible for it
• The software could launch in full in July

We were already expecting the beta program for One UI 8 (based on Android 16) to start over the next few days, and Samsung has now announced that it's gone live across several countries, including the US, the UK, Germany, and South Korea.

As per the official announcement, the software update brings with it "a new era of software intelligence", including multimodal AI – which essentially means enhancements to the AI tools already on phones with One UI 7.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 phones are the first in line for the beta program, and while it may well extend to other devices at a later date, Samsung hasn't said anything about this yet. The company does say that it's worked closely with Google so that the One UI update schedule can get closer to the main Android update schedule.

There's some information here about upcoming foldables from Samsung. While they're not mentioned by name, Samsung does say One UI 8 will launch in full alongside "new foldable devices" – and we're expecting the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Galaxy Z Flip 7, and tri-fold Galaxy G Fold to show up sometime in July.

How to get involved

There are standard disclaimers that apply with any beta: you run this early software at your own risk, and you should expect some bugs and odd behavior in return for being able to test out new features ahead of everyone else.

If you're a Galaxy S25 owner and you're in a country where the One UI 8 beta is live, you can get involved by heading to the Samsung Members app on your phone, and signing in with your Samsung account. You should then see an invite to the beta program.

Follow that invite and you'll get instructions for installing the beta, which won't cost you anything. Alternatively, you're free to wait until One UI 8 is pushed out officially, most probably in July. Based on everything we've heard so far, Google seems likely to launch Android 16 in June after its own beta test.

Among the One UI 8 highlights flagged up by Samsung, we've got support for the Auracast upgrade for multiple Bluetooth connections, an enhanced Quick Share panel, and an update for the Samsung Reminder app that adds "more convenient and intuitive features" for keeping your reminders organized.

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