Beyond the Alphabet is a weekly column that focuses on the tech world both inside and out of the confines of Mountain View.
If there's one thing we know for sure, 2024 has been pretty odd when it comes to software updates. Google released its new flagship lineup of phones before Android 15 was out, Apple announced a bunch of features that won't arrive until at least March of next year, and we're midway through November with no sign of stable Android 15 for Samsung phones. However, with what little we know about One UI 7, I can't help but wonder if Samsung is following Apple's example in more ways than one, and for better or for worse.
For years, I abstained from even considering using a Samsung phone. I didn't care how cool or "reliable" Samsung phones were because the software was just so incredibly awful that it ruined everything else for me. However, that all changed once Samsung finally moved away from TouchWiz in favor of One UI.
Not only was TouchWiz packed to the gills with features, but there were more issues than you could count. I'm actually grateful for how bad it was because otherwise, I might not have enjoyed the different offerings from LG, Motorola, HTC, and Google. Heck, if it weren't for Samsung, I might not even be sitting here writing these words.
Nevertheless, here we are and Samsung is gearing up to release its first beta for One UI 7. Although it has been a little over six years since One UI was originally unveiled, it shares one commonality with TouchWiz as Samsung still takes an "everything but the kitchen sink" approach to features.
I'm not expecting Samsung to really add any "game-changing" features to the mix, but it does seem as though a UI overhaul is in store. With the exception of a few differences here and there, One UI has largely remained the same since One UI 4 in 2021. This was based on Android 12, which introduced the Material You design language.
Although Material You arrived with One UI 4, it didn't really get fully implemented until One UI 5.
Samsung's implementation with One UI 4 was half-baked, to say the least, but the company rectified those issues with One UI 5. That puts us at about two years of using the same general software experience, meaning that we're definitely due for something new.
Most of the time, I don't really care about how the software looks on any phone, not just Samsung. However, given that it's taken Samsung this long to actually release the beta of One UI 7, I've grown a bit worried that we might be in store for a bit of a storm.
It really wasn't all that long ago that Samsung was considered among the worst companies when it comes to software updates. That's changed in recent years, with the best Samsung phones receiving updates faster than any other phone besides Google's Pixel.
I can't help but feel like there's a little bit of writing on the wall with the One UI 7 update, considering the beta has already been delayed several times. And if it weren't for a few leaky faucets, we wouldn't have any idea what to expect.
That being said, we're likely to see Samsung overhaul everything and anything, ranging from icons and widgets to "smoother animations" and even a new Quick Settings panel. I've seen some suggestions that Samsung is trying to make One UI a bit more like iOS, especially when it comes to animations.
While I agree that animations could be better, I could really care less about whether the software looks like the Android equivalent of an iPhone. Why? Because I'm just going to download Good Lock, a few icon packs, and make my phone look the way I want it to anyway.
No, the bigger problem here is that Samsung is also rumored to be taking another page out of Apple's book, but it's not a good one. Instead of announcing features when they're ready, Samsung might announce its latest batch of features, only to delay some of them until One UI 7.1.
When Apple introduced the iPhone 16 series, the company also leaned heavily into the "Apple Intelligence" aspect. Of course, this was just a part of the company's initial marketing push, but there was one problem — many of those features weren't available yet.
In fact, there are some that we're still waiting for, as Image Playground and ChatGPT integration with Siri is currently only available if you're using the iOS 18.2 beta. Meanwhile, the really cool features, such as Personalized Responses and On-Screen Awareness, aren't expected to arrive until March 2025.
So without even knowing everything that Samsung has up its sleeve for new features, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't travel down this same path. If we are indeed getting an overhauled UI, that's plenty for Samsung to hang its hat on and promote. Then, the company can properly announce its AI features after they are fully baked and ready for primetime.
Some of the rumored AI features include things such as "AI Notification," which summarizes your notifications. It has also been said that Samsung will introduce new options for its existing AI features, such as Sketch to Image.
Given the constant need for companies to figure out ways to get AI into headlines, I suspect that Samsung won't take the reserved approach. Instead, it will likely make the same mistakes as Apple, which could be pretty comical if One UI ends up looking like iOS.
I don't have a crystal ball and can't see what the future holds, so it's possible that I'm completely off base. Maybe Samsung delayed the release of One UI 7 so that it could release everything at once. Or maybe the plan all along was to release the final version alongside the Galaxy S25, but the lack of transparency and communication has let our imaginations go wild.
At the same time, I'm a bit worried that Samsung is about to revert back to its old ways when it comes to software updates. Samsung may try to do too much, which would result in delayed updates and half-baked promises.
Let's just hope it doesn't come to that and that this is just a blip on the radar.
