Most people will agree that Samsung’s software for its smartphones isn’t quite as well regarded as its hardware. While it started out being called TouchWiz, the software experience got a significant bump up when the company adopted the newer Samsung Experience UI, but it’s still widely considered to be needing improvement. Those improvements could be coming in the form of the new Samsung OneUI, a refreshed approach to smartphone and tablet software from the South Korean company.
However, according to a report by Tom’s Guide, Samsung OneUI seems to be limited in its availability. While it will be adopted on new smartphones in the coming months, older devices are unlikely to get updated to the new interface. The UI is built on Android 9 Pie and will be launched on the Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+ and Galaxy Note 9 starting January 2019, but the Samsung Galaxy S8, S8+ and Note 8 won’t be getting the new UI. At this point, it’s unclear if the older devices will even be getting Android 9 Pie.
This will come as a big disappointment to anyone that has invested in the 2017 Samsung flagship devices, since the improved UI will be kept away from them. Buyers who picked up Samsung flagships this year are being promised the new software for now, while new devices in 2019 – including the foldable smartphone and the Samsung Galaxy S10 – will get it out of the box.
WATCH: Samsung Galaxy Note 9 First Look
Samsung OneUI is all about design improvements that are meant to make usability easier. This includes tweaks for one-handed usage despite the increasing screen sizes, and a general de-cluttering of the interface. It remains to be seen if OneUI can actually improve upon the current software experience significantly, but we do have our hopes up.
