Samsung gave Galaxy S25 users One UI 8.5, but skipped the features they wanted most
Samsung’s stable One UI 8.5 software has finally started reaching Galaxy S25 series devices after initially being introduced alongside the Galaxy S26 lineup in February.
The update adds several new features, including upgraded Photo Assist, smarter Quick Share, Audio Broadcast, Storage Share, and new security tools. But it also leaves out several Galaxy S26 features that many Galaxy S25 users were expecting. Unsurprisingly, it has left many of them disappointed.
What did Galaxy S25 owners actually miss out on?
Posts on Samsung’s Korean community forum, along with feature lists shared by users who installed the stable build, point to at least nine missing features. The two biggest omissions are Now Nudge and the new 24MP camera mode. Now Nudge is a Galaxy AI feature that reads what is on the screen and suggests quick actions, such as adding calendar events, sharing photos, or filling in contact details. The 24MP camera mode is a higher-resolution option inside Samsung’s Camera Assistant app. Neither feature appears to depend on Galaxy S26-exclusive hardware in an obvious way.
Samsung
Other reported omissions include Notification Highlights, the fingerprint Improve Accuracy option, the Finder shortcut on the home screen, Samsung Browser’s Ask AI, My Files file summaries, 30x-plus remastering, and Horizontal Lock in Super Steady.
Is Samsung holding back Galaxy S26 features on purpose?
On Samsung’s Korean community forums, many users are treating the omissions as feature gatekeeping rather than a hardware issue. Their argument is that the Galaxy S25 series already has Snapdragon 8 Elite chips, which should be powerful enough for many of these tools. Some users suggest Samsung’s newer NPU hardware in the S26 lineup could explain a few limits, but the broader reaction is that Samsung is drawing a clear software line between the two generations.
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
While many are still hopeful that the company could provide these features in the upcoming One UI 9 update, other Galaxy owners are starting to question what Samsung’s long-term update promise really means. The Galaxy S25 Ultra launched with seven years of software support, but if important new features stay limited to the newest phones, users may wonder what that promise actually covers. Does it mean full feature updates, or just Android upgrades and security patches?
