News > Phones Samsung Galaxy Smartphones to Get Major UI Update Some features should be familiar to iPhone users By Lawrence Bonk Lawrence Bonk News Reporter Florida State University Lawrence Bonk is a tech news reporter for Lifewire, specializing in gaming, AI, VR, and consumer tech, including iOS, macOS, wearables, and more. lifewire's editorial guidelines Published on October 27, 2021 12:24PM EDT Fact checked by Rich Scherr Fact checked by Rich Scherr Twitter University of Maryland Baltimore County Rich Scherr is a seasoned technology and financial journalist who spent nearly two decades as the editor of Potomac and Bay Area Tech Wire. lifewire's fact checking process Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Phones Mobile Phones Internet & Security Computers & Tablets Smart Life Home Theater & Entertainment Software & Apps Social Media Streaming Gaming 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 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. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up! Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit