What was poised to be a landmark update from Samsung ended up being the talk of the town in the Android world for all the wrong reasons. Rollout delays, critical bugs, communication missteps, and whatnot, Samsung made many mistakes with One UI 7, but that has also overshadowed everything Samsung’s got right.
The One UI 7 software has left Samsung fans frustrated and questioning the company’s approach to future update rollouts. The next upgrade, One UI 8 (based on Android 16), is a crucial opportunity for Samsung to course-correct its missteps. However, time isn’t on its side — Android 16 is arriving much earlier than the usual timeline, giving Samsung less breathing room to get things right.
One UI 7 was a mess from the beginning
One UI 7 kept going the other way right from the beginning. After a delayed beta release in December 2024, it remained exclusive to the Galaxy S24 series for a long time, only to frustrate other Galaxy users waiting for their turn to early access One UI 7. There wasn’t even a clear timeline for the public rollout.
Samsung severely lacked clear communication throughout the ordeal. After nearly six months of Android 15’s release, the brand was ready for the One UI 7 stable rollout. However, the company quickly paused the rollout because of a critical bug. It was good that the pause didn’t last longer.
Samsung users were already pissed off with a significantly delayed rollout, and the software experience only made it worse. A lot of people are particularly unhappy with the splitting of the notifications and quick settings. It’s a nice optional feature, but it’s probably not a good move to make it the default option and change how people are used to interacting with it.
The Now Bar, though an exciting UI element, is positioned weirdly on many Galaxy models. One UI 7 also has too many design inconsistencies (see it here). People are also unhappy with the latest changes to the lock screen, app drawer design, and more functionalities.
People familiar with the ins and outs of One UI software would probably find their way around the UI changes but still can’t entirely fix Samsung’s missteps. Regular Samsung users might have difficulty settling their fingers onto the latest changes.
Related: One UI 8 update won’t come to these Samsung devices
Can Samsung fix its mistakes with One UI 8?
Ideally, they should, and it seems the company is already pushing for it. During The Android Show earlier this month (watch it on YouTube), Samsung VP and Head of Smartphone Planning, Minseok Kang, announced that One UI 8 will start rolling out this summer. Now, that can mean any time from June to September, but it’s good to see Samsung committing to a timeline.
According to reports, One UI 8 will not be a substantial upgrade, and that’s obvious, given how big of an upgrade its predecessor was. However, we are more interested in seeing Samsung fine-tuning its drastic changes for a better user experience.
The company is already developing One UI 8, as multiple internal builds have been spotted on the test server. So, things seem to be moving in the right direction. Hopefully, Samsung will be able to regain the trust and goodwill it lost with One UI 7 with a quicker rollout and sensible changes.
More One UI 8 stories:
1. Samsung devices that are eligible for One UI 8 update
2. One UI 8 rollout won’t follow One UI 7’s pace
2. One UI 8 aims to protect users from fraud, scams, and theft
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