One UI 8.5 may soon be coming to the Galaxy S23, but there’s a catch

It looks like Samsung is finally giving the Galaxy S23 lineup a significant software update after a few rounds of One UI 8.5 beta builds, but there’s a glitch that may make it less exciting.

A new leak from Tarun Vats x Turns out that although Samsung is working on a stable One UI 8.5 update for the Galaxy S23 series, some of the latest Galaxy AI features on the Galaxy S26 series may not be included.

Obviously, features like call screening and Creative Studio may not be available. The improved AI audio eraser with notification highlights and now nudges may also be missing. Samsung has not given any official reason, but this is not the first time this has happened.

Many new AI features require updated hardware, especially better NPUs (Neural Processing Units) and better on-device models. Although the S23 series is still powerful, it may not meet these requirements, or Samsung may choose to keep some features only for newer devices.

Despite that limitation, this update is still worth noting. The Galaxy S23 lineup came out in early 2023, and most phones from this era will only get basic maintenance updates so far.

Instead, Samsung is working to improve the experience and help older flagship phones stay operational longer. This is good news if you plan to keep your device for a while.

Still, it’s looking more likely that Samsung is deliberately keeping its latest Galaxy AI features away from the S23 lineup. Whether it’s due to hardware limitations or a business move to boost S26 sales, your S23 may not be getting the AI-focused upgrade you might have wanted.

That said, this leaked changelog may change. Samsung may still add some missing features before the final version is released, but it’s better not to hope for it.