Samsung is now rumored to have delayed the start of the beta program for its upcoming One UI 8.5 Android skin . This is what the Galaxy S26 series is expected to launch running. Samsung should have released the first beta build of One UI 8.5 in November.
However, this is now very unlikely to happen, a tipster on X says. The rollout is delayed, and it’s all connected to the Galaxy S26+. This model was initially scrapped by Samsung, only to be brought back to life recently in the face of the Galaxy S25 Edge‘s dismal sales (the S26 Edge was supposedly replacing the S26+, but now the S26 Edge has been canceled and the S26+ is back on track).
Because Samsung needs more time for the S26+’s development, the launch of the entire Galaxy S26 family is now rumored to have been delayed until March. Since Samsung wants those devices to mark One UI 8.5’s debut, there’s no point in launching a beta campaign in November for the S25 family, if they’re only going to receive the final update in March. Hence, the delay in the rollout.
This is just an unconfirmed rumor and a ton of conjecture on our part, by the way, so don’t take anything you just read as gospel. That said, it wouldn’t surprise us if all of this was in fact accurate.
