At the Samsung Developer Conference, the company announced a new minimalistic UI for its smartphones, which is expected to supersede the Samsung Experience in its current flagships by January.
It was about two years ago that Samsung started ditching the dreaded TouchWiz brand for the Samsung Experience, a new UI for its smartphones. We’ve been seeing this new incarnation in the company’s smartphones since, but now things are about to change once again.
At the Samsung Developer Conference, the manufacturer introduced One UI, a new user experience that’s « made to focus ». Samsung says the interface is meant to show you only the information you want when you want it, removing everything you don’t need to see. From the provided screenshots, the interface does look very clean and straightforward.
Another big focus point for this UI update is the ability to use phones more easily with one hand. As phone screens keep getting bigger, many may find it uncomfortable to use them with one hand, so Samsung wants to make things a little easier by placing interactive elements at more reasonable distances that don’t require as much stretching. There’s also a dark mode to make the phone more comfortable to use at night and in dark environments.
One UI is also important for Samsung’s foldable device plans, enabling seamless transitions from the one display to another. You’ll also be able to use three active apps at the same time if you’re using the larger display, which should enable some degree of multi-tasking.
One UI is expected to replace the Samsung Experience in the company’s current flagships sometime in January, but you can sign up for the beta program if you want to be one of the first to try it out. The program is available for users in China, France, Germany, India, Poland, South Korea, Spain, UK, and the USA, though not everyone will be getting it at the same time. The first beta should be available this month for those in the U. S., Germany, and Korea, with further availability being unknown at this time.
To sign up for the One UI beta, you’ll need to have a Samsung account and download the Samsung Members app (or use the Samsung+ app if you’re in the U. S.) and find the find the option to register under Notices. Then, when the update is available, go to your device’s settings to look for updates manually.
Source: Samsung (1), (2) via Android Central
