Android Pie has been available for some time and OEM updates are starting to surface. Samsung shed its previous UI in the form one a new One UI that takes the best out of Android Pie and delivers a remarkable experience.
From day one Samsung put a heavy focus on personalization, fitting its first smartphones with a user interface called TouchWiz. Samsung’s personalization layer started to become good with the introduction of Android 5.0 Lollipop on the S6. Samsung Experience arrived on S7 and made things even better but it seems that the company wanted to mark the release of the S10 with the addition of a revolutionary UI.
Pros
One UI was designed from the ground up as a new interface with fresh colors, icons and overall looks. A subtle accent is placed on whites and greys, generating a tranquil feeling. It looks great, offering a modern and intuitive feeling that is very attractive. The remarkable use of soft-radius corners and negative space makes it even better.
Interaction points were shifted between the rows of apps, facilitating the use of the device with a single hand. The free space may seem a bit unusual at first but the change is great. Samsung managed implement the new navigational gestures feature without issue and it feels really good.
The addition of a system-wide dark mode option will make many users happy. It may not be as optimized as the dark modes offered by OnePlus and Google but it’s better than using a third-party theme.
One UI offers a variety of handy tweaks that improve the daily experience, including revamped pre-loaded apps that aim to deliver a good experience.
Cons
This may sound a bit strange but the main flow of One UI is represented by the fact that it easy to tell that it was made by Samsung. Access to common features is still tied to the main Settings menu. A few folders that don’t seem to be on par with One UI are still present. Bugs that were present in Oreo made the transition untouched.
Conclusion
It may have some flaws but One UI is a great update and many users will be able to enjoy it.
Henry Lares is still early into his career as tech reporter but has already had his work published in many major publications including Tech Crunch and the Huffington Post. In regards to academics, Henry earned an engineering degree from Apex Technical School. Henry has a passion for emerging technology and covers upcoming products and breakthroughs in science and tech.
