Will Galaxy S21 FE Get One UI 8.5? New Reports Say No

https://www.androidheadlines.com/2026/02/galaxy-s21-fe-no-one-ui-8-5-update-rumor.html

Publish Date: 2026-02-23 11:42:00

Samsung’s next major update is the One UI 8.5. The company will use the Android 16 QPR2 build as foundation. Though the beta version is already out for the Galaxy S25 series, the stable version will only debut on the Galaxy S26 series later this week. Post which, Samsung will gradually roll out the update to all eligible models as per schedule. In a disappointing development, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE may not be among the list of devices that’ll get the One UI 8.5.

Galaxy S21 FE may not receive One UI 8.5 update

X/Twitter user Saurabh reached out to Samsung India’s customer care team to find whether the Galaxy S21 FE would get the One UI 8.5 update. Responding to that, the customer care executive clarified that the Galaxy S21 FE will not get the update. This is disappointing news for the users of the phone, especially those who were looking forward to the update.

But then again, Samsung’s customer care representatives don’t usually have accurate information about upcoming updates for the Galaxy devices. Samsung has historically pushed every minor One UI update for flagship phones that got the underlying Android version.

Security updates until January 2027

Samsung promised Android updates until Android 16 for the Galaxy S21 FE, which it already received. It will continue to receive security updates until January 2027. The customer care representative, too, reiterates this information. It’s believed that Samsung is unlikely to continue rolling out security patches without bringing One UI 8.5 to the Galaxy S21 FE. That said, this is just a speculation for now.

That said, Samsung changed how it handles minor updates. After One UI 7, instead of releasing One UI 7.1 and One UI 7.2, Samsung went straight to One UI 8. This will be followed by One UI 8.5 and then One UI 9, which will be based on Android 17. We will have to wait and see how things play out at the end. The device is currently running on One UI 8 based on the…

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