What you need to know
- Samsung announced that One UI 8.5 Beta 5 introduces a couple of key upgrades for Bixby.
- The AI is now capable of “natural conversation” understanding from users to help with settings and more, while also adding real-time online searches.
- One UI 8.5 Beta 5 is a small patch that’s rolling out to U.S. users, alongside other regions, as we approach Galaxy Unpacked next week.
If you’re involved in Samsung’s latest One UI 8.5 beta, you’re going to notice a major addition: the upgraded Bixby.
The company started rolling out One UI 8.5 Beta 5 to enrolled Galaxy S25 users yesterday (Feb 19), and now Samsung is sharing what you can expect from Bixby. Of course, Samsung’s been down this “AI Phone” road for a while now, and Bixby’s slowly rising to become a more integral part of that vision, according to Samsung’s MX business COO, Won-Joon Choi.
They state, to support this future, they’ve “redesigned Bixby to enable more natural interactions and intuitive device control, reducing friction in everyday tasks.”
There are two bright spots in this Bixby beta, starting with “intuitive” device control through natural conversation. When Samsung uses “natural” conversation, it means that users don’t have to know the ins and outs of their device, nor their settings, to receive help. If the user can describe what they need help with, Bixby should be able to handle the rest. Samsung adds, “Bixby understands the intent and takes the appropriate action, reducing the time and effort required…”
Moreover, Bixby is also reportedly capable of understanding your current settings and offering impactful solutions, rather than “generic” babble. The other big feature Samsung highlighted was Bixby’s real-time web searches. Users looking for hotels, restaurants, and more can ask Bixby, and the post states it will leverage “live and up-to-date information.”
Bixby is trying something new
This upgraded Bixby is available in the One UI 8.5 Beta 5 update for users in Germany, India, Korea, Poland, the UK, and the U.S. Samsung adds that it’s preparing a “wider” expansion, but no details were given yet.
The latest beta started rolling out yesterday, as reports came in about its appearance overseas before hitting the U.S. Though the patch was light, only ~548MB, the main highlight of its changelog mentioned was an “applied Bixby version.” Samsung’s now come forward to explain exactly what that entails. Additionally, Samsung accidentally revealed its Bixby upgrades in January, showing off its Perplexity-fueled online searches and conversational capabilities.
Galaxy Unpacked will take place on February 25, 2026 at 1 pm ET/10 am PT in San Francisco, California.
Android Central’s Take
Bixby always feels like that one feature on a Galaxy device that I consistently overlook. In comparison to Gemini, which Samsung features all over its phones, Bixby doesn’t really carry in any aspect. With the moves Samsung’s been making, it looks like it recognizes that its assistant isn’t exactly doing as much as it could for users. Also, it seems like Samsung’s looking at Perplexity to back Bixby’s online work, not Gemini. Perhaps we’ll see Bixby move into a more prominent position on its future Galaxy devices, though the option of Gemini will most likely remain.
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