Samsung is starting to blur the gap between old and new flagships, at least on the software side. The company has pushed a fresh One UI 8.5 beta update to the Galaxy S24 family and the Galaxy Z Fold7, and the big headline is simple: some of the Galaxy AI features that first showed up on the Galaxy S26 series are now landing on these devices too.
That is good news for anyone who bought into Samsung's premium ecosystem early and does not want to feel outdated just because a newer flagship dropped a few weeks ago.
What is included in the update?
According to the update details, Samsung is adding these newer AI tools to the latest beta build:
- Creative Studio
- Call Screening
- an improved Photo Assist
- a better Audio Eraser
Samsung is basically taking the AI extras it introduced with the Galaxy S26 line and extending them to older high-end hardware through One UI 8.5 beta. That matters because it shows Samsung is still treating AI as a platform feature, not just a launch-day flex for the newest phone.
For users already enrolled in the One UI 8.5 beta on a Galaxy S24 series device or the Galaxy Z Fold7, this update should arrive as a normal over-the-air download. If the notification has not popped up yet, you can manually look for it by going to Settings > Software update and checking from there.
Why this matters for Malaysia and SEA users
For Malaysian and wider Southeast Asian users, this is the kind of update worth watching closely because a lot of people here hold onto flagship phones for longer than one generation. A Galaxy S24 owner who paid flagship money last year will definitely want to see fresh AI features arrive without needing to jump straight to the S26.
The same goes for foldable users. Fold phones are expensive in this region, so software longevity matters a lot more when buyers are already spending big. If Samsung keeps extending its latest AI toolset to slightly older premium models, that makes the whole Galaxy ecosystem feel like a safer buy.
There is also a practical angle here. Features like Photo Assist and Audio Eraser are easier to understand in everyday use than vague AI marketing. For creators, students, office workers, and people who spam Instagram Stories, TikTok clips, voice notes, or event videos, these are the kinds of tools that can actually save time.
Call Screening could also be especially useful in a region where spam and unknown-number calls are a regular annoyance. Samsung has not detailed any region-specific behaviour in the source material, so local users will still want to see how well the feature works in real usage, but the addition itself is a strong sign.
Beta now, stable later
If you are not on the beta, there is no need to panic. Samsung says these new features and upgrades to existing tools will also be included in the stable One UI 8.5 release once that wider rollout begins.
So right now, beta users are getting early access, while everyone else is basically waiting for the polished version.
That is the bigger takeaway here: Samsung is not keeping the latest Galaxy AI experience locked to the newest S-series phones for long. For Galaxy S24 and Z Fold7 owners, that is a pretty nice win.
Source: GSMArena