I love a Ui 7 but it still can’t beat Google’s Pixel software

We’ve spent more time than I care to count on discussing which Android -Hud is the best here at Android Authority. I’ve always leaned against Google’s light, smooth pixel interface, but I have friends who want to defend Samsung and its customizable user interface to their batteries running out. In some way, they have found comfort in the endlessly customized menus, interchangeable icon packs and side scrolling app drawer that never quite clicks for me.

But I’m nothing about not open -minded. When a big Android update lands, I tend to make my rounds through all the usual suspects, and check out Google’s intake of it, along with Samsung’s, OnePlus’s and Motorola, often in that order.

Right now it means a good, long look, or a new look, on A Ui 7. And as happy as I am with the new update, it still has not swayed me.

First, I will clarify that this is not my first digging in the world of a Ui 7. I have used Samsung’s latest software on all three – or rather four – of Galaxy S25 modelsIncluding the new Galaxy S25 edge. It felt natural throughout the setup, almost as if the features were specially designed for Samsung’s latest, most powerful devices, because they were.

For me, however, there is a difference between using the software a phone is launched with and giving it a significant update that promises a bunch of new wrinkles. Usually, the former is the best a phone, with the least wear on the battery and chipset, combined with perfectly optimized software. Not this time. When I uploaded a UI 7 on the Galaxy Z Flip 6, I realized that the previous Android version felt incomplete.

Everything feels better, from the redesigned camera -the user interface that makes controls easier to reach to now the bar that offers more glossable updates for sports, timers and calendar reminders. It’s almost like I can do more with my Galaxy Z Flip 6 Without spending so much time thinking about it or asking Galaxy Ai to think of me. And as a stubborn Android user who still likes to do things semi-manual, I appreciate it.

However, not only the more noticeable changes have made a UI 7 experience worth staying around. I am equally drawn in by the smaller fine adjustments, as a vertical-rolling app drawer (finally), and Shared notification menus. Although I could not stand the latter at first, I have appreciated it. I have advocated swipe down on the opposite sides of my screen much better than I ever did with the old OnePlus shelf design. Even the animations in a Ui 7 feel more polished – even a simple task that makes a $ 1100 flip phone feel like it is fulfilling the price tag.

Then again, because we talk about one of Samsung’s more interesting form factors, I know that a UI 7 still has some work to do. Although it increases the daily experience on traditional Candy bar phones, it does not fix any of the Quirks with the Galaxy Z Flip line, as the lack of a proper tire screen drawer, and neither the shared notifications nor the now line are present in the phone’s Flex window.

I probably shouldn’t have expected massive Galaxy Z flip changes in a Ui 7, given the significantly delayed and very unlike Samsung rollout of the One Ui 7, but it’s still disappointing to see one of the two big flip phone players let the software feel second best. I am optimistic that the Galaxy Z Flip 7 series will bring changes, especially now like that The cover screen is likely to get an updateBut I refuse to get hoped.

In the introduction, I mentioned that I liked Google’s Pixel Ui for the light, clean interface. I know it’s not the same as makes Android-and I don’t think I want it if it was-but its smaller-es-it approach has always felt most comfortable. It’s like the simple, streamlined iOS interface to the Android world, just with the adaptation options to make it feel more like home.

One Ui 7, on the other hand, remains the opposite. Yes, it has been cleansed and feels more functional and effective than ever, but it is still quite maximum as far as Android -Skins goes. It can be customized – you can (and I did) spend hours on Good lock.

So far, Diy home have caused a bit of a tear in Android Authority team. A few of us love the flexibility it offers, while others, like me, think it is overwhelming as fulfilling a plate on Thanksgiving. Sure, it’s nice to experience the true freedom to release apps and widgets anywhere and everywhere, grid or no grid, but as soon as you get off Samsung’s railings, all games are off.

I happened to choose two apps and one widget at the same time and hit one of Samsung’s align buttons, just to find out that it adjusted them … on top of each other. Yes, it put them perfectly along the right side of the Galaxy Z Flip 6 screen, but it did it in a way where I had to go and drop each one to access them. Worse, there is no good way to exchange DIY home and on again to restart the layout – everything is in line with the grid or exactly how you left it in chaos mode.

Honestly, if Samsung had put DIY home without needing a good lock, I might not have much so much. However, the fact that it falls into the classic Samsung trap of needing extra apps to cover a basic task tells me that a UI 7 has not learned many lessons. It is still overloaded with Microsoft and LinkedIn partnership that holds Bloatware on the standard home interface, and Samsung cannot decide whether it wants you to choose features (like the vertical app drawer) or out of them (such as going back to the traditional warning shadow).

Overall, I should not be surprised by my one UI 7 experience. I knew it would feel pretty good in my hand after my time with the Galaxy S25 series, and I was probably mostly excited to try it on the Galaxy Z Flip 6 just because I love the form factor. For the most part, Samsung’s software has fulfilled my expectations. It improved what Samsung could improve its candy devices, but let most of the flip phone problems hang in the wind, quite a bit as expected, although it wasn’t the most exciting.

That being said, my return helped to a user interface also crystallize how far behind Pixel Ui it is in my mind. Many of the things I was excited to see Samsung embrace, Google has already done for years. Pixels still have the better, more streamlined camera experience, and I have never questioned how my app drawer appeared when I fired a new Google device. Mix in the Google’s combination of hardware and software feels more fun than Samsung’s functional, effective approach, so I will continue to take a pixel every time.

And then there is the chaos in the UI 7 rollout itself. The constant delays and uncertainty came to the point where my colleague Joe Maring called them bad enough for him Wouldn’t recommend a Samsung phoneAnd after seeing my brother struggling with a Ui 7 tanking of the battery life on his phone, I tend to agree. Sure, Samsung will probably smooth some of these cracks over time, but I don’t think we forgot the delay after delay when a UI 8 rolls around just a few months.