Samsung Officially Announces the New Bixby Features in One UI 8.5
Samsung has released the fifth beta of One UI 8.5 which now includes the February Android security patch along with an updated iteration of Bixby. The company has provided an official explanation of the upgraded Bixby which is now being introduced to users as a conversational device agent, emphasizing a more interactive experience.
In a formal statement, Samsung has highlighted the new features and improvements coming to Bixby in One UI 8.5. The company confirmed that this update is expected to go live in tandem with the official launch of the Galaxy S26 series on February 25, promising a more advanced and user friendly virtual assistant.
According to Samsung, the redesigned Bixby will enable users to control and manage various device settings simply by using natural language commands. For instance, a user could say they don’t want the screen to automatically turn off while they are viewing content and Bixby will immediately enable the “Keep screen on while viewing” setting. This makes everyday device interactions more intuitive reducing the need to navigate multiple menus manually.
The updated Bixby now includes support for real time web searches allowing the virtual assistant to provide users with the most current and relevant results for their queries. The retrieved results are displayed right within the Bixby interface, making it possible to quickly access the most relevant information without navigating away to a separate browser or application.
If you are using the latest One UI 8.5 Beta 5, you can experience Bixby’s new features firsthand. Currently the feature is available only in a select group of regions including Germany, India, Korea, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Samsung has indicated that a wider global rollout will follow eventually making the enhanced Bixby accessible to a much larger audience.
