Samsung Galaxy AI Reaches Mid-Range and Older Phones via One UI 8.5

Samsung has extended Galaxy AI features to older flagships and mid-range Galaxy A phones through its One UI 8.5 update. The update has now reached all 44 Galaxy smartphones and tablets that Samsung confirmed as eligible. The last confirmed model to receive it was the Galaxy A15. The rollout is the latest step in a two-year effort to spread AI tools beyond premium handsets, and this account is dated 11 October 2026.

Samsung's move shows how AI is spreading from premium phones to the mass market. Most new One UI 8.5 AI features were exclusive to the Galaxy S26 series at launch. With the update, they now support the Galaxy S25, S24 and older devices. Samsung says the staged approach is meant to protect stability and quality across models.

The expansion builds on earlier steps. At the Galaxy S24 launch in 2024, Samsung brought AI features to the Galaxy S23 and foldables from that generation. By May 2024, features reached phones as old as the 2021 Galaxy S21, Flip3 and Fold3, but only Circle to Search and Chat Assist were included.

Hardware explains much of the gap. Some AI features run on the phone's own chip. Others, such as object erasure and other generative tools, run in the cloud on more powerful servers. Mid-range phones have less powerful processors, so on-device features cannot simply be copied across. In 2024, Jisun Park, executive vice president and smartphone software project leader at Samsung, said Circle to Search was the most used AI feature.

Samsung then began moving AI into mid-range products directly. In May 2025, it confirmed that select mid-range phones, including the Galaxy A56 5G, A36 5G and A26 5G, would get flagship-level AI features. Gemini, Google's AI assistant, would launch by pressing and holding the side button. Those phones sit in the roughly ₹30,000 to ₹40,000 price band.

For India, the mid-range is where many buyers sit. Longer software support means AI features can arrive on phones people already own, not only on new purchases. India's policy focus on affordable access to AI makes handset reach an important measure of how widely such tools are used. One assessment of the A57 and A37 launch argues Samsung is betting on keeping users in its ecosystem rather than on hardware margins.

Short-term: Owners of eligible Galaxy A phones, older flagships and the Galaxy Tab S9 FE series can now get One UI 8.5 and a set of AI tools. These include Circle to Search, Live Translate and Transcript Assist on phones such as the A56 and A36. Galaxy S25 and S24 owners get almost the complete experience. Users can check Settings under Software update to see whether the update is available for their model and region. Samsung has said availability may differ by market.

Long-term: The rollout points to a model in which core AI tools reach many phones through software updates, while the most advanced features stay with the latest flagships. The Galaxy A17 is also scheduled for six major software updates and six years of security patches. An assessment of the A57 and A37 launch says the real test is whether buyers in this price range value tools such as voice transcription and object eraser enough to choose Samsung. No sales data on that has been published.

Who is affected: The update affects owners of Galaxy A, F and M series phones, older Galaxy S flagships and two Galaxy Tab S9 FE tablets. India is directly affected, as it was among the first regions in the wider rollout and many mid-range Galaxy A phones are sold there. Samsung competes with other Android brands and with Apple, whose older iPhones stay relevant through long support. Samsung is still expected to extend One UI 8.5 to more countries and to the eight unconfirmed devices that have not yet received it.

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