Samsung has already started to heat the engines for 2026 and, as often happens when it comes to large software updates, the first rumors are not long in coming; If a couple of days ago we saw how the company had started the internal tests for the next One UI 8.5, today a new escape of news has Some internal screens of the new owner interface revealed of the brand, which should officially debut with the Galaxy S26 series before arriving, as per tradition, also on different previous models. Surprisingly, there are those who have noticed more than one call to the Apple Ios style, in particular at the recent Liquid Glass.

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The first images of the next one UI 8.5

According to what reported, a developer managed to get his hands on an internal build of the One UI 8.5 and transfer it to a Galaxy S21 Plus, thus offering us a preview of what Samsung is experimenting with the scenes; The images are not many, four in total, and only concern the Applications menubut they are enough to make us understand the direction undertaken.

This is the second iteration based on Android 16, after the UNU UI 8 update released this year, and some are already glimpsed aesthetic differences:

  • New Smart Research Bar -> is now positioned at the top of the menu, with a persistent version also on the main page, at the bottom of the screen
  • Farewell to the old header -> the search icon and the settings label no longer find a place in the upper part, which appears cleaner and full screen
  • separate back button -> the button returns to the upper left corner, isolated compared to the banner, for a more minimal look

The comparison with iOS 26, one user on X (ex Twitter) has not passed unnoticed, highlighted how The new search bar and the back button reminds the design of the latest Apple release closely; Of course, the typical watercolor effect of Cupertino’s Liquid Glass is missing, but the Family feeling is evident.

Moreover, Samsung is not new to small aesthetic loans (like a bit of all brands in reality), the goal could be to modernize the interface pending that the Material 3 Expressive (the new Google aesthetic guideline) also becomes a consolidated standard on Android.

It must be said that we are in front of preliminary changes, and that the definitive one UI 8.5 could also present radical changes; However, it is interesting to note that the South Korean giant seems to want to lighten and make experience more refined, without however giving up his DNA.

Those who await with curiosity the arrival of the Galaxy S26 series, scheduled as always for the beginning of next year, will therefore have to patient a few more months; The first leaked images, however, show us how Samsung seems to look at a future in which Android and iOS could get closer than ever, at least on aesthetic level.