Samsung is making one large mistake with One UI 7

I’ll be the primary one to confess that I’m not the most important One UI connoisseur. I dabble with a spare Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely that my boss purchased within the hopes I’d get conversant in Samsung, however strive as I’d, I nonetheless know approach, approach, far more about Google’s Pixel expertise than I do Samsung’s. I’ve been attempting to do higher, although, particularly now that One UI 7 is across the nook. The issue is that even Samsung doesn’t need to make this simple for me, and that, my mates, is Samsung’s largest challenge with One UI 7: Function discoverability.

One among my favourite and most understated apps on my Pixel telephones is Pixel Suggestions. Every time I arrange a brand new Pixel or my present cellphone receives an enormous Android replace or a Pixel drop, I get a bit notification telling me there are new options I ought to discover. I faucet that, and I’m proven every thing that’s new (or virtually), with massive graphics, nifty animations, and clear explainers, so I do know precisely what my brand-new Pixel is able to or what my previous one can now obtain.

For the longest time, I wanted Samsung had that. Only a cool little app that exhibits me the brand new options as an alternative of itemizing them in an extended and boring changelog. I voiced that want on our inner Android Authority Slack and I used to be instantly advised that it already exists. What do you imply it exists? Properly, disgrace on me for not recognizing the large orange Suggestions app icon in my dozen-horizontal-page drawer, but in addition, disgrace on Samsung for not pushing this ahead extra.

So this Samsung Suggestions app exists (standalone or accessible from the Settings menu) and, identical to the Pixel Suggestions app, it has an inventory of Samsung’s finest options, explainers round Galaxy AI, and, for individuals who enrolled within the One UI 7 beta, it additionally lists a number of the new options. There are animations displaying all of the options in motion and fast shortcut buttons to vary a setting to allow a brand new choice… precisely like Pixel Suggestions.

The place it doesn’t copy Pixel Suggestions, although, is with being proactive about notifying me and different customers about every thing it has in retailer. So if I’m a Samsung person and I simply obtained an replace, I by no means know what’s modified, what’s new, and what my cellphone is able to. Not until I’m going digging on my own. That’s unhappy.

Compared, Google doesn’t thoughts poking me repeatedly till I examine the brand new options. “Your Pixel acquired extra useful” is critically probably the greatest notifications I get on my cellphone and I like that it helps me uncover what’s new. I work within the tech trade, but there are nonetheless instances after I don’t have time to learn a whole changelog, so Pixel Suggestions is invaluable to me after I need a cheat sheet to catch up. It’s additionally an superior software for reminding me of why I like the Pixel expertise. Does Samsung not care about creating such a loyal feeling for its customers?

Samsung does all of the work however doesn’t flaunt it

Perhaps I’m being harsh in my evaluation, however I really need the perfect for each the person expertise and the builders behind all of it. If Samsung’s One UI staff is placing in all this effort to make a singular, highly effective, and feature-filled new model of One UI, then they need to boast about it, and customers ought to learn about it. Samsung Suggestions must floor some notifications after we replace; it must also showcase all the most important new options, not just some random ones.

My colleague Zac Kew-Denniss has repeatedly sung the praises of One UI 7’s beta, and I’m with him. It is a very substantial replace, however until Samsung makes an enormous fuss and tells Galaxy customers about all the brand new goodies, a whole lot of them will go unnoticed and unused. 1000’s, if not tens of millions, of customers will click on that “Replace” button, wait for his or her cellphone to reboot, and barely discover one or two new issues. Hours and hours of improvement and work will go to waste as a result of some options will not often, if ever, be used. That’d be an enormous disgrace.

However there’s nonetheless time to repair this, Samsung. So, earlier than the secure model of One UI 7 rolls out, please be sure that the Suggestions app is in tip-top situation and displaying all the perfect new options. And ship a notification to individuals who replace their telephones. They should know that it simply acquired higher!