Samsung One UI 8.5 Adds 5 Standout Z Flip 6 Tweaks, Led by Quick Panel Controls

Q: Why does One UI 8.5's best AI require the newest Galaxy phones, leaving recent flagships behind?

One UI 8.5’s strongest AI appears to be limited to the newest Galaxy phones mainly because Samsung is using those features to differentiate its latest flagships, not because older premium devices are clearly incapable. The update itself is broad and polished across devices, bringing features such as a redesigned Quick Panel, Private Album, cleaner camera controls, AI wallpaper tools in Creative Studio, and DeX widgets. But the most marketable AI tools are being split more narrowly. Reports around the rollout show that advanced features such as Now Nudge, deeper Perplexity-powered Bixby actions, Samsung Browser’s Ask AI, some camera AI modes, and tools like Audio Eraser or fuller Photo Assist options are reserved for the Galaxy S26 line or, in some cases, only the S24 and newer. That has drawn criticism because the hardware argument is weak in several cases. The Galaxy S25 and some foldables use the same Snapdragon 8 Elite class as the S26, and some omitted features look software-based rather than dependent on new sensors or chips. That makes Samsung’s usual explanations about optimization, thermals, or hardware limits less convincing for every missing feature. Samsung also has not publicly explained the gaps in detail, which has reinforced the view that this is a product strategy. In practice, One UI 8.5 gives recent flagships a strong update, but Samsung is keeping the headline AI experiences on the newest phones to protect their sales appeal.

3 articles · Updated · MUO - MakeUseOf · Jun 14

Five settings stood out after a week on One UI 8.5 for the Galaxy Z Flip 6, with the redesigned Quick Panel offering new resizing, rearranging and third-party toggle options.
Private Album emerged as the most useful addition, letting users hide photos inside the Gallery behind fingerprint or passcode protection instead of moving them into Secure Folder.
Good Lock modules extend the update further: QuickStar allows deeper panel resizing, while Camera Assistant removes unwanted viewfinder indicators without losing access to those controls.
One UI 8.5 also adds AI wallpaper generation from personal photos through Creative Studio and finally brings widgets to the DeX desktop.
The update is framed as one of Samsung's strongest recent One UI releases, despite minor issues such as awkward elongated folders and occasional keyboard theme mismatches.