One UI 8.5 set to enhance Spotify and YouTube recommendations in Now Brief

What you need to know

• Now Brief is a One UI feature that uses AI to power daily recommendations on your Samsung Galaxy phone.
• One UI 8.5 could improve YouTube suggestions by tapping into your interests and video like history.
• The update might also add Spotify recommendations based on the date, time, season, and holidays.

Samsung launched the Now Brief alongside One UI 7 and the Samsung Galaxy S25 series, and it's a hub for AI-powered recommendations. While it primarily works within the Samsung and Google ecosystems, it does have support for a few third-party services, like Spotify. The Now Brief also taps into YouTube for video recommendations to satisfy your video and audio needs. With the upcoming One UI 8.5 update, Now Brief might get even better at recommending Spotify and YouTube content.

Android Authority dug through the alleged APK leaks for the One UI 8.5 update, and uncovered code strings aimed at improving personalization for YouTube videos in Now Brief. The update will apparently add prompts that ask users if they want to share their YouTube data with Samsung to improve recommendations. It will then use their liked YouTube videos and interests to display video suggestions in the Now Brief.

Some examples might include videos based on your favorite sports team or a topic you frequently watch about on YouTube.

<string name="spotify_afternoon_description">Liven up your afternoon with this playlist.</string>
<string name="spotify_birthday_description">Enjoy this birthday playlist.</string>
<string name="spotify_discover_description">Start your week with this playlist.</string>
<string name="spotify_newmusic_description">Get into the Friday mood with this playlist.</string>
<string name="spotify_newyear_description">Start the new year with this fresh playlist.</string>
<string name="spotify_night_description">Wind down before bed with this playlist.</string>
<string name="spotify_rainyday_description">Enjoy this rainy day playlist.</string>
<string name="spotify_release_description">Your weekend soundtrack starts here.</string>
<string name="spotify_winter_description">Enjoy this playlist for a snowy day</string>
<string name="spotify_yearend_description">Look back on the songs you listened to this year with this playlist.</string>

Additionally, Android Authority found references to Spotify recommendations. Based on the code strings uncovered below, Spotify will soon use the current time, date, and season to suggest playlist recommendations. If the strings are any indication, Spotify playlists related to your birthday or a holiday could show up in the Now Brief.

<string name="spotify_afternoon_description">Liven up your afternoon with this playlist.</string>
<string name="spotify_birthday_description">Enjoy this birthday playlist.</string>
<string name="spotify_discover_description">Start your week with this playlist.</string>
<string name="spotify_newmusic_description">Get into the Friday mood with this playlist.</string>
<string name="spotify_newyear_description">Start the new year with this fresh playlist.</string>
<string name="spotify_night_description">Wind down before bed with this playlist.</string>
<string name="spotify_rainyday_description">Enjoy this rainy day playlist.</string>
<string name="spotify_release_description">Your weekend soundtrack starts here.</string>
<string name="spotify_winter_description">Enjoy this playlist for a snowy day</string>
<string name="spotify_yearend_description">Look back on the songs you listened to this year with this playlist.</string>

Quick Share and Contacts could be getting Now Brief upgrades, too. The report highlights a Now Brief feature that could suggest sharing photos with people whose faces are recognized in them, or for use as contact profile images.

All told, it looks like Now Brief is getting a pretty major upgrade with One UI 8.5, if these code strings pan out.

When might these changes arrive as part of One UI 8.5?

One UI 8.5 could be hitting early access testers soon, perhaps as early as this month. A recent leak predicted the One UI 8.5 beta program could launch in December. The rumored timeline might involve a launch with Beta 1 on Dec. 8, followed by Beta 2 on Dec. 22 and Beta 3 on Jan. 5.

It's unclear when the One UI 8.5 update might debut publicly, but with the Samsung Galaxy S26 series on the horizon, it'll likely arrive on or before the date of the event.