Samsung unveiled its new One UI late last year, pushing the software update out to certain Galaxy S9 and Note 9 devices in early 2019. With the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10 Plus and Galaxy S10e it’s finally available on new devices.
What is One UI?
One UI replaces TouchWiz and Samsung Experience as the software layer the brand builds over Android. In this case it’s built upon Android 9 Pie.
Which phones have One UI?
OneUI is rolling out to Note 9, Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus models. We’ve received the update on our unlocked S9 but not on our unlocked Note 9.
It’ll also be available on all the new S10 models, including the Galaxy S10 5G, along with the Note 8, S8 and S8 Plus.
1. It’s built to be used with one hand
In One UI, Samsung has rebuilt the majority of its native apps with a focus on making them much easier to use with just one hand. And considering a lot of its latest phones are rather large, it’s arguably more important than ever.
Take the Messages app for example, which nows shunts everything down to the lower portion of the app. You can now interact with all the elements without stretching your thumb all the way to the top.
Related: Best Android phones
2. System-wide night mode looks amazing on OLED
Heavily rumoured to be a big feature in the next versions of iOS and Android, the dark/night mode is One UI lets you switch out the glow of white for black. Once activated it works across Samsung’s own apps and areas like the settings panel and notification panel.
It makes everything much easier to look at comfortably and as all these phones use OLED displays, the blacks are deep and inky.
3. You can finally navigate the software with gestures
Samsung has introduced a bunch of new gestures in One UI which can, if you choose, replace the standard back, home and overview keys.
A swipe up takes you home, with the swipes to the left and right taking you back and into the updated multitasking view. If you’ve used an iPhone X it’ll feel very familiar.
4. Everything looks so much slicker
Samsung has updated just about every design element with One UI. Native apps feels less busy, Bixby’s got a cleaner home and the settings menu is so easier to navigate. There are new icons too and animations, on the whole, feel a lot smoother.
5. Lift the phone to wake it up
A handy one this, and another that’ll feel familiar to any users switching from an iPhone X or above. Once enabled in the settings, you can make the phone jump into life by simply picking it up.
What’s your favourite thing about One UI? Let us know @trustedreviews
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
