For the past few years, I’ve been a big fan of Samsung’s One UI design language on Galaxy phones. That changed with the update to version 8.5. I’m not alone. Many people are swapping out their home screens for custom launchers and replacing Samsung apps with alternatives. What did Samsung get so wrong?
One UI 8.5 is not a big failure
There are too many inconsistencies
I like the general look of Android, but In fact, I’ve preferred Samsung’s mods in recent years.. Everything from the choice of widgets to the quick status icons to the standard app layout seemed more minimalist, consistent, and practical on Samsung devices than on Google’s. But while I still don’t like the design decisions Google makes for its first-party apps, it’s hard to beat Material 3 Expressive as a whole. It’s a beautiful design language.
Meanwhile, Samsung’s latest round of app updates looks like a serious case of fixing what wasn’t broken. Sidebars that used to reach all the way to the edge of the screen now have an awkward gap. The folder icons in Samsung My Files have really increased their use of gradients. The Contacts app now has giant contact cards, a design element not seen in any other app. The Clocks app has a kind of shine to it.
In my opinion, the most attractive Samsung apps are now the ones that have been left out. Samsung Music hasn’t received much attention in a long time and seems to be better for it. Samsung update is not in any way a failure at the level of Apple’s Liquid Glassbut it doesn’t seem like an improvement either. Things are starting to feel inconsistent in a way that reminds me that this is the company that gave us TouchWiz.
The AI invasion continues
These are Gemini, Galaxy AI and Bixby
It’s been a few years since most major smartphone companies brand their phones as AI phones, but only a few have fully leaned into it. Many have only gone so far as to add a dedicated physical button that activates an AI chatbot and other nifty features. However, with each new version of One UI, Samsung has leaned even further into making sure its AI features are front and center.
Whether you’re opening the app drawer, file manager, or calendar app, you can expect a floating search bar at the bottom. This small tweak is the biggest UI change of the entire release. Samsung’s big bet is that search is one of the most useful ways to use the AI built into your phone, and it wants to make this functionality obvious. In the process, Samsung has added clutter and created confusion over where to look for the search option in each app. The search bar is also sometimes smaller and harder to reach than before the update.
When it comes to Bixby, Samsung’s new Perplexity-based version is a mixed bag. Not only is he more talkative, but he is also less trustworthy. Bixby used to be a reliable and predictable way to control not only my Samsung phone but also any connected smart home devices through Samsung SmartThings. Now, as with all LLM-based tools, you simply cannot predict exactly what it will do. This is frustrating for someone who only has recently discovered how useful Bixby could be. Now that relationship with Bixby has ended up being very short-lived.
One UI 8.5 doesn’t fix what needs to be fixed
There’s still a lot about Samsung’s software that needs attention
I recently traded in my Samsung Galaxy Fold 6 for a Moto Razr Fold. I have already written about How much better is Motorola’s hardware than Samsung’s? when it comes to camera, battery life, and charging speeds, but what convinced me most to reach for the Razr Fold was actually the software.
My opinion is that Motorola has the right approach to Android. Take stock of Android and add some attractive features that blend perfectly with the existing Android design language. As a lover of foldable devices, the main feature that won me over is Motorola’s approach to multitasking. There is Many ways to multitask on a Samsung Galaxy Z Foldbut the experience of using more than two applications at the same time is uncomfortable. I have watched for years how other foldables have done better.
Motorola now offers the option to have three apps open side by side and scroll between them. Alternatively, I can rotate between up to three apps in a carousel. As someone who again use my phone as my PCThis improvement in quality of life makes it much easier to get work done.
Samsung once led the way with this kind of thing. The Z Fold’s multitasking features were originally impressive and the company has stuck with DeX for almost a decade, but now other foldables have a better workflow and DeX is no longer the only option for the Android desktop. Glad to hear it Samsung fixed quick and messy One UI setupbut that’s not enough. Instead of catching up, Samsung seems to simply fall further behind.
Customers won’t tolerate much
My Motorola phone comes with AI features, but they’re hidden behind a physical button I never pressed. As an end user, this is great. The functionality is there if I want it, but it’s also easy to ignore.
From a corporate point of view, this is bad design. They want me to use AI and this button clearly doesn’t work. What do you do for a living? What you need to do is launch Galaxy One UI 8.5. You continue to put AI front and center, while ignoring signs that at some point your customer might just leave, and if they can’t leave, you’ll trade your software for someone else’s. Niagara Launcher has never looked more like a better solution for your bloated Samsung device than now.
