Samsung has officially launched the One UI 8.5 beta program for the Galaxy S25 series, offering users a sneak peek at the upcoming version before its stable release. This update is set to bring a range of visual changes, new Galaxy AI features, and various enhancements to improve the user experience. Among the anticipated changes is a redesigned YouTube card in the Now Brief feature.
Now Brief serves as a convenient summary of your daily activities, displaying information such as weather updates, calendar events, news highlights, health data, and even AI-generated content. One of the integrations within Now Brief is YouTube, which traditionally displayed videos in a vertical list format, limiting the number of videos visible to users.
With the introduction of One UI 8.5, the YouTube card in Now Brief is expected to undergo a significant transformation. Instead of a vertical list, video recommendations will now appear in a horizontal carousel that users can swipe through. This change allows for up to ten video recommendations to be displayed at once, each featuring a larger thumbnail image for improved visibility. This update is particularly noteworthy as One UI 8.5 aims to provide users with more relevant and engaging YouTube video recommendations.
For users who do not see YouTube videos in their Now Brief feed, they can enable this feature by accessing the Now Brief settings, selecting Content to include, and enabling YouTube. While the One UI 8.5 beta program is currently exclusive to the Galaxy S25 series, Samsung is expected to expand it to other devices in the near future, including the Galaxy Z lineup and potentially older models like the Galaxy S24. This new version is built on the latest Android 16 QPR2 release.
The stable version of One UI 8.5 is slated to launch with the Galaxy S26 series early next year, with subsequent rollouts to other eligible models, including flagship, mid-range, and entry-level devices. Overall, the redesigned Now Brief YouTube card is set to enhance the user experience and provide more personalized video recommendations for Galaxy users.
In conclusion, the One UI 8.5 update promises to bring significant improvements to the Galaxy user experience, with the redesigned Now Brief YouTube card being a standout feature. Stay tuned for the official release of One UI 8.5 and enjoy a more personalized and engaging content experience on your Samsung device.