Samsung Galaxy Smartphones to Get Major UI Update

Samsung Galaxy smartphones are about to get one heck of a facelift that could ease the transition for customers thinking of making the leap from an iPhone.  

At its annual developer conference on Tuesday, Samsung announced details regarding its forthcoming One UI 4 software update. One UI 4 has been available in beta form since September, but this is the first time Samsung has officially detailed its various features. 

Samsung’s One UI 4 brings some nifty ingredients to the smartphone table, including a series of new haptic feedback and sound triggers that activate when you perform certain actions, such as setting an alarm or using the device’s fingerprint sensor. 

Many of the new additions, however, might feel familiar to iPhone users. One UI 4 brings rounded widgets that are similar to Apple’s UI, for instance, and the company now will let users set an AR emoji as your profile photo, resembling how iPhone users can set their Memoji as their Apple ID photo. 

One UI 4 also will let you move from photo to video mode just by dragging up from the camera shutter, which is not dissimilar to how Apple’s QuickTake feature works in its camera app, though Apple’s method is slightly more complicated. Samsung’s forthcoming UI refresh also adds some privacy features, letting users choose whether or not they want to give location data to apps. Apple introduced this feature last year with iOS 14. 

The update officially launches at the end of the year and will first roll out to the Galaxy S21 series before heading to other devices.