Samsung TVs will get new One UI software to match its phones, and we have mixed feelings about it
DA Gadgets Samsung
has
big
news
for
TV
buyers.
From
2025,
it
will
be
unifying
all
of
its
product
lines,
including
its
best
TVs,
under
the
banner
of
One
UI.
If
you’re
not
familiar
with
Samsung’s
Android
phones,
One
UI
is
its
flavor
of
Android:
this
design
sits
on
top
of
the
operating
system
to
give
every
phone
a
distinctive
Samsung
personality.
If
you
are
familiar
with
Samsung’s
Android
phones,
though,
you
may
understand
why
we
have
distinctly
mixed
feelings
about
this
announcement.
One
UI
on
Samsung
TVs:
the
good
We
have
reviewed
endless
models
of
Samsung
TVs
over
the
years,
and
while
Samsung
makes
really
good
televisions
we’re
less
enthusiastic
about
its
TV
operating
system.
Tizen.
We’ve
put
together
an
in-depth
comparison
of
the
various
TV
operating
systems
here,
but
the
short
version
is
that
Tizen
is
the
weakest
link
in
Samsung’s
televisions:
it’s
fine
in
terms
of
what
it
does,
but
what
it
does
isn’t
done
as
quite
as
nicely
or
in
as
user-friendly
a
way
as
some
of
its
rival
operating
systems,
especially
webOS
or
Roku.
According
to
Samsung
(via
FlatpanelsHD),
with
the
move
to
One
UI
you’ll
get
a
“cohesive
product
experience”
across
your
various
Samsung
devices
as
well
as
“software
upgrades
for
seven
years”.
It’s
important
to
note
that
One
UI
isn’t
an
operating
system
but
an
overlay,
so
it’s
entirely
likely
that
it’ll
sit
atop
Tizen
rather
than
Samsung
switching
to
Android
TV.
But
whatever’s
underneath,
One
UI
should
deliver
a
very
different
and
hopefully
better
TV
experience.
And
it
could
be
very
different:
Samsung
says
One
UI
7.0
will
have
a
“brand
new
UX
[User
Experience]
design”.
One
UI
on
Samsung
TVs:
the
not
so
good
We
like
One
UI.
We
really
do.
But
we
don’t
always
like
what
Samsung
does
with
it.
In
our
reviews
of
the
Samsung
Galaxy
S24
and
Samsung
Galaxy
S24
FE,
we
noted
that
Samsung
has
a
tendency
to
hide
important
features
and
to
be
a
little
over-complicated:
system
settings
in
particular
could
be
“tough
to
track
down”.
In
our
Galaxy
S24
review
we
scored
its
software
just
two
out
of
a
possible
five
due
to
problems
that
“were
starting
to
feel
like
laziness”
in
an
operating
system
that
was
“pushing
me
to
do
more,
to
buy
more,
and
use
more”
when
we
just
wanted
simplicity.
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Hence
the
mixed
feelings.
One
UI
can
be
great,
but
Samsung
can
also
make
it
not-so-great
–
so
while
we’re
absolutely
on
board
with
the
idea
of
an
improved
interface
on
Samsung
TVs,
we’ll
reserve
final
judgement
until
we
see
what
Samsung
actually
delivers.
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