What you need to know about One UI 7: Software is hard

Samsung's One UI 7 release is a bonafide shit show; there is really no other way to describe it. Having said that, the real issues don't stem from the software itself or the phones that will eventually receive the update; it's a matter of over-promising and under-delivering. Unfortunately, that's pretty common when the people doing the selling aren't the people doing the building.

There are three different camps here. I know this because I have spent the last three days reading whatever people had to say about it. I do not recommend it if you don't love the aftertaste of Tylenol.

One group of people is sharpening pitchforks while posting on websites like Reddit about how Samsung is terrible, and they're never buying another Samsung phone again. Others are coping and making excuses for the whole mess while posting responses from Samsung Customer Care, blaming Google for the rollout issues.

The third group? They don't care as long as things still work right now and won't break when they're told to update their software. I think everyone is right and everyone is wrong, all at the same time.

What's going on here?

Samsung originally promised to deliver the One UI 7 update to eligible Galaxy S phones in Q1 2025, which isn't going to happen. It will get here eventually — the latest says it's coming in April — but that doesn't address the real problem: writing software is hard, and unless you have done it, you have no idea how hard it can be.

Of course, seeing the Galaxy S25 released with the update makes it especially hard for consumers to swallow.

I'm saying the real problems with the rollout of One UI 7 are all about communication, transparency, and setting expectations. It has nothing to do with features or options or anything technical.

You may think using software another company makes for you, like Android (from Google) or Windows (from Microsoft), is easy, but it's not. It could be if every company used the exact same configuration of hardware specifically designated by the company that wrote it, but then you'd have a more Apple-like situation where you can't choose what product fits you best. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's not for everyone.

Android is especially difficult because it's so ... "loose." However, as long as you follow some rules from Google, you can do a lot with it to make it look and act like something completely different — enter One UI 7.

Samsung executives and project managers have a vision of what each version of One UI will be. They decide how it will look, what features will be improved, which new features are needed, and what features will be removed. They base this on the feedback you give while using your Samsung phone via data collection. The next version of One UI will be a mix of things that Samsung knows users like to interact with.

This isn't done in a vacuum. Managers, engineers, marketing, and even carrier representatives are involved in the decisions that go into the update and its release schedule. One side wants everything, and they want it now, while others are more timid and want more time. A compromise is reached, and a timeline is built. Then, the chaos and "crunch time" begin.

The folks tasked with developing the ideas given to them from people up the chain need to find a way to do it all and try to do it by a given date. Samsung has historically been terrible at this, and I can't blame anyone at the company for it. Neither should you. It's a communication breakdown between the people making the promises and the people trying to fulfill them.

When you want to try and do too much, you need too much time. Integrating a new (though now a year old) version of Android with a slew of AI parlor tricks and a reinvented notification idea that will include sports scores and the kitchen sink is too much.

To top it all off, much of it will be discarded once a better way is introduced that's more integrated with Android. Split windows and one-handed mode come to mind. Samsung wants to be first, so it will race forward with an idea instead of waiting because that's a good way to sell more phones. If you are reading this on a Galaxy S phone, it probably worked on you.

None of this is a bad idea or anything you should be upset about. If you're upset, it's because you were told one thing and delivered a different thing. The overworked developers doing it aren't the people who told you what you would get and when you would get it. Welcome to marketing.

What you really need to know about One UI 7

It will be here when it gets here. That's it; there is nothing more we need to know about it.

We want to know a lot more, though. We want to know a date and what to expect. We want to know that it won't have issues or be filled with bugs. We want it all, and we want it now. This goes for software updates from every company, not just Samsung.

I hate to break it to you, but it didn't get here when you wanted it, and once it does, there will be bugs. You may get angry and complain on the internet, and I can't blame you. Please complain about it the right way — Samsung needs to be more transparent and develop better communication with its customers before it tries to do anything else. The company has made great strides in software development over the past 10 years, and it's time to work on other things.