Joe Maring / Android Authority
For the last few weeks, Samsung’s One UI 7 update has been the talk of the Android world. Between exciting new features, drastic UI changes, delayed rollouts, and more, there’s been a lot to discuss. And while the update itself is largely fantastic, there have been enough misfires and mistakes from Samsung that the controversy surrounding One UI 7 overshadows everything Samsung got right.
Trust has been broken, people are pissed, and it’s all left Samsung in a rather precarious position. And, unfortunately, the company doesn’t have the luxury to rest and take its time before its next big software update.
One UI 8, Samsung’s version of Android 16, is on track to arrive as early as this summer. And after everything we just went through with One UI 7, One UI 8 stands to be Samsung’s most important update yet.
After everything that’s happened, are you still happy with One UI 7?
8 votes
Picking up the pieces after One UI 7
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
Frustration around One UI 7 has been mounting since last October. After a couple of years of delivering Android updates at a fast, consistent pace, Samsung’s One UI 7 rollout was about as messy as they come. Betas were delayed, there wasn’t a clear timeline on the update’s public release, and Samsung’s communication throughout the whole ordeal was severely lacking. Whether Samsung wasn’t saying anything at all or only providing vague release windows to look forward to, none of it was good.
When One UI 7 was finally ready for the masses, six months behind Google Pixel phones getting Android 15, Samsung had to pause its rollout at the last minute to squash unexpected bugs. To Samsung’s credit, the update was resumed fairly quickly, but it was a perfect way to cap off everything that had happened in the months leading up to One UI 7’s release.
This already left a bad enough taste in people’s mouths, but things continued to sour as One UI 7 rolled out to more and more devices.
Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority
What should have been an exciting update to receive after months of delays, people installing One UI 7 quickly realized core parts of their phone no longer worked as they were used to — creating even more discontent for an update that really couldn’t afford it.
Samsung’s new split design for the quick settings and notifications is perhaps the biggest offender. Is it a nice second option to have? Definitely. But making it the default layout in One UI 7, and completely changing how people are used to interacting with such a core part of their phone, was a bad move. And while it hasn’t been as intense, there’s been similar annoyance with changes to lock screen notifications, the new app drawer design, and more.
What’s particularly damning for Samsung is that each of these missteps are upsetting different groups of people.
Dedicated fans are frustrated, casual users are upset, and none of that is good for Samsung.
People who keep their finger on the pulse of the Android world can probably figure their way around the UI changes, but they’ve also been fully aware of how disorganized and slow the One UI 7 release has been — and that’s not inspiring confidence in them for where Samsung goes from here. “Normal” everyday Samsung phone owners may not care (or even know) about the drama surrounding One UI 7’s rollout, but they sure do know the way they use their phone has drastically changed with the blink of an eye, and it’s not sitting well with them.
In other words, no one is happy. Dedicated fans are frustrated, casual users are upset, and none of that is good for Samsung.
Can Samsung get One UI 8 right?
Joe Maring / Android Authority
It’s obvious that Samsung has to get things back on track with One UI 8, but will it be able to? At the very least, it looks like the company is headed in that direction.
During The Android Show earlier this week, Google confirmed that Samsung’s Android 16/One UI 8 update will be heading to phones this summer. With Android 16 scheduled to arrive on Pixel phones in June, there should be a much smaller gap between when Pixel phones get Android 16 and when Samsung phones get One UI 8. I’m at a point where I’ll believe it when I see it, but if Samsung can deliver such a fast turnaround so quickly after the mess that was One UI 7, that’s encouraging.
Samsung seems to know it can’t afford a repeat of what happened with One UI 7.
Samsung is correcting its release timing, but what about how it introduces sweeping new changes to users? Word on the street is that One UI 8 won’t be nearly as substantial an update as One UI 7 was, so there should be fewer opportunities to tick people off. That said, I would like to see Samsung fine-tune its more drastic One UI 7 changes — be it better tutorials/introductions, or having them be optional rather than the new default.
Samsung hasn’t explained why One UI 7 was as turbulent as it was, and the truth is we may never know. But Samsung seems to know it can’t afford a repeat of what happened there, and that’s a good start to ensuring One UI 8 can build up the goodwill lost with its predecessor.
