Samsung launched One UI 8 as a quick sequel to One UI 7. The company has entirely skipped One UI 7.1 and One UI 7.1.1 to speed up the One UI 8 deployment. The new OS upgrade is indeed coming with a short gap, but it doesn’t mean Samsung hasn’t made any differences in One UI 8 compared to the previous version, One UI 7.

One UI 8 brings notable changes, but they don’t make it a major upgrade tagged with a new Android version. The new software is still in Beta phase, and more tweaks and reverts are likely until the official update rollout commences.

Samsung’s latest One UI version appears to refine and optimize One UI 7, with notable differences in updated app interfaces, expanded customization options, and enhanced app functionalities.

Here are the 3 key differences between One UI 8 and One UI 7:

Source – Samsung

Here’s a clear look at the key differences between One UI 8 and One UI 7, focusing on user interface, customization, and app experience.

1. User Interface

One UI 8 tweaks the look and feel to be more polished than One UI 7. The Quick Panel tiles have a thin border, which not only increases the overall appearance of the interface but also elevates the frosted glass design approach.

One UI 7.0 (left), One UI 8.0 (right)

Animations also feel smoother in One UI 8, with slick transitions that flow naturally. Beta participants have noticed this on the Galaxy S25 series. The Now Bar has also added live alerts for phone calls and do-not-disturb functions.

Credits – @UniverseIce / X

The new OS also has a multitasking boost: One UI 8 adds a 90:10 split-screen option, letting you shrink one app to the side while focusing on another. One UI 7’s split-screen didn’t have this flexibility, making this a nice step up.

2. Customization

Samsung is crafting a stylish clock with a new font for Galaxy devices. It’s currently available in the internal One UI 8 build, not the public Beta. This clock style customizes itself the font as per the wallpaper type and placement.

Source – @universeice/X

A cool new trick in One UI 8 is using AI Select to turn screenshots into wallpapers, which was not available in One UI 7. You can also tweak Samsung Internet’s menu layout, and Modes and Routines with new preset options.

In addition, the Samsung Reminder app also gets more customizable in One UI 8. You can show or hide categories to keep things tidy, which feels like a small but smart improvement over One UI 7’s setup.

3. Enhanced App Experience

Apps like Quick Share, My Files, Weather, and Samsung Internet get fresh designs, with tabbed layouts and see-through effects that feel modern and easy to use.

Quick Share in One UI 8 has a full-screen view with file previews and a cleaner send screen. Samsung’s stock Reminder and Calendar apps are now better integrated in One UI 8.

You can create reminders with voice input, drag-and-drop tasks, and use title suggestions, unlike One UI 7’s separate app approach.

The upgraded My Files experience allows you to filter recent files by app, so you can find what you need faster. One UI 7 is stuck with basic sorting, so this is a practical upgrade for file management.

One UI 8-based Samsung Health brings running challenges and food recording reminders, enhancing health tracking. One UI 7 didn’t highlight these updates, making One UI 8’s app experience more engaging for users.

There are many more minor tweaks to be compared between the One UI 7 and One UI 8. Overall, Samsung’s Android 16-based skin doesn’t reinvent the experience, but brings fruitful visibility and usability enhancements.

Samsung and Apple are Beta testing their latest operating systems. Apple’s new iOS 26 brings Liquid Glass design, while Samsung’s One UI 8 focuses on refining the One UI 7 experience, but how do their animations compare?

The two companies have upgraded their software systems to the second Beta version. The latest releases are a result of testing and verification based on user feedback, which also includes resolution for complaints and fixes for issues.

One UI 8 vs iOS 26: Animations in Beta

Watching that video from @UniverseIce comparing iOS 26 Beta 2 and One UI 8 Beta 2 is kind of eye-opening. After checking out the video myself, here’s what I noticed:

App Opening and Closing

First off, when you open or close apps on iOS 26 Beta 2, animations stutter a bit, like they’re tripping over themselves, and there is this awkward pause sometimes.

Compare that to One UI 8 Beta 2, apps open and close so smoothly that it almost feels like a finished product, which is clean and has no errors.

• You can watch the comparison video here (opens in a new tab).

Source – @UniverseIce / X

Which Beta OS has better animations?

Overall, iOS 26 Beta 2’s animations just don’t feel ready yet. The Liquid Glass look is cool, but the stuttering and pauses make it rough around the edges.

One UI 8 Beta 2, on the other hand, is surprisingly polished. It’s not perfect, but it’s way ahead in keeping things fluid, with more refinements in the works for the Stable release.

Note: The comparison reflects the current state as shown in the video.

Animations in other aspects:

Swiping around the home screen

Apple’s iOS 26 has buggy animations for swiping around the home screen. You can see the pages lag just a tad, and it doesn’t feel smooth. One UI 8, though, offers much better, reliable, and smoother animations for home screen swipes.

Quick and Notification Panels

On iOS 26, pulling the Quick and Notification panels down feels like the animation is fighting to keep up, and it freezes, too. One UI 8, meanwhile, shows quick panel slides in and out buttery smooth, offering a good experience.

As both are beta versions, performance may improve in future updates.

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7, launching on July 9, will pack a powerful 3nm chip. But which of the two upcoming foldable phones will have the better processor: the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy or the Exynos 2500?

Exynos 2500 is Samsung’s first 3nm smartphone chip, which was initially planned for the Galaxy S25 series. Due to changes in the plan and internal issues, the SoC is now set to debut with the upcoming Flip phone globally.

Here’s a breakdown to help you decide.

Galaxy Z Fold 7 uses Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 will be equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy worldwide. Built on TSMC’s 3nm process, this chip has an 8-core CPU: two prime cores at 4.47 GHz and six performance cores at 3.53 GHz.

Leading benchmarks give the Snapdragon an edge, scoring around 3200 on Geekbench 6 single-core and nearly 10,000 multi-core. This makes the Galaxy Z Fold 7 a beast for multitasking, like running apps on its big screen.

Its Adreno 830 GPU, running at 1100 MHz, handles ray tracing for resource-consuming games. Qualcomm has also worked on the integration of artificial intelligence, which makes the device a true AI companion with an upgraded NPU.

Image: Qualcomm

Galaxy Z Flip 7 gets Exynos 2500, Samsung’s first 3nm chip

This 3nm chip, made with Samsung’s GAA tech, sports a 10-core CPU for smooth performance. Its CPU includes one Cortex-X925 core at 3.3 GHz, two Cortex-A725 cores at 2.75 GHz, three at 2.36 GHz, and four Cortex-A520 cores at 1.8 GHz.

Geekbench scores hit roughly 2300 single-core and up to 8000 multi-core, solid but sharply behind the Snapdragon’s numbers. Meanwhile, it is slated to deliver exceptional performance and AI task execution to the next Flip phone.

The Xclipse 950 GPU, based on AMD’s RDNA 3.5 at 1300 MHz, is 50% faster than its predecessor with hardware-level raytracing support. Connectivity is a highlight here, with 12.1 Gbps 5G speeds and satellite messaging for emergency SOS.

Image – Samsung

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• Exynos 2400 vs Exynos 2500: Here’s the specs comparison

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 bring Samsung’s best with 3nm chips. The Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy powers the Fold for unmatched speed, while the Exynos 2500 makes the Flip versatile.

The verdict: Both, Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy and the Exynos 2500 chips are top-notch, but the Z Fold 7’s Snapdragon edges out for speed.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra with monster camera launched yesterday to challenge the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. The new Xiaomi flagship introduces powerful camera hardware including a 1-inch main and a 200-megapixel periscope sensor.

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is initially launched in China, but March is set for the Global welcome of the device. The Chinese company is even considering bringing the new phone to South Korea as part of putting pressure on Samsung.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra comes with Snapdragon 8 Elite, bigger battery, faster wired and wireless charging, funky design and so on. Camera is the most highlighted aspect of the smartphone, bringing it close to professional pocket cameras.

Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Xiaomi 15 Ultra: Camera Comparison

Galaxy S25 Ultra is unquestionably the most powerful camera phone in 2025. The new Samsung flagship has gained positive response from different review firms and some of the most popular tech reviewers out there globally.

Meanwhile, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra makes the S25 Ultra camera hardware feel outdated. Samsung can’t make bulky phones in favor of crazy camera specs. However, the difference in hardware indeed offers better experience in most scenarios.

Table compares the detailed camera specs and features of the two flagships:

Xiaomi 15 Ultra continues to boast Leica-tuned quad camera system. The module consists of a primary, a short telephoto, a long telephoto, and an ultrawide sensor. The main 1-inch camera now introduces a fixed f/1.63 aperture.

Compared to its predecessor, the mid zoom option has the same 1/2.51-inch IMX858 sensor but the 75mm f/1.8 lens is replaced by a 70mm f/1.8 one, meanwhile, the ultrawide moves to 14mm f/2.2 optic (1/2.51-inch Samsung JN5 sensor).

Samsung’s ISOCELL HP9 200MP telephoto camera is used in the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. Previously, Vivo X100 Ultra and Vivo X200 Pro also debuted this image sensor. For selfies, there’s a 21mm f/2.0 front camera with a 32MP resolution.

On-paper specs are quite promising and the Xiaomi 15 Ultra might beat the S25 Ultra in some scenarios. The hype is heavier than the real appeal and it’s unlikely that this device will be sold in the United States, dominated by iPhones and Galaxies.

Price: The 12/256GB model costs CNY 6,499 (€854, £700, INR 78,000, $895), the 16/512GB model is CNY 6,999 (€920, £760, INR 84,000, $960), the 16GB/1TB model is CNY 7,799 (€1,025, £850, INR 93,600, $1,070).

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra brings notable performance and quality improvements over the S24 Ultra. Recently, IceUniverse compared the camera video mode of the Galaxy S25 Ultra with the Galaxy S24 Ultra in different aspects.

Ice demonstrated a rigorous video quality comparison through video frames. The difference of details is easy to spot in video frames, rather than a video clip. The comparison involves four different croppings from a 4K 60fps video recording.

The S25 Ultra video camera records more details than the S24 Ultra. In the 2x samples, the shots recorded on S25 Ultra feature true-to-life colors, while the S24 Ultra has boosted the brightness.

The 3x samples show a significant difference in terms of quality. This time, the color and brightness remain similar but the details are way more crispy on the S25 Ultra over its predecessor.

Image credits – Ice Universe / X

S24U | S25U – 2x and 3x | Full-resolution images here

Similar to 3x, the 10x and 20x zoomed clips have no color or brightness difference. Both phones produce recorded video with natural colors, however, the difference is visible in details and quality.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra camera records objects sharper than the S24 Ultra in both 10x and 20x zoom, that too, without oversharpening the imagery and making it look weird in some cases.

Image credits – Ice Universe / X

S24U | S25U – 10x and 20x | Full-res images here

The Galaxy S25 Ultra supports 4K video recordings at 60fps. The phone’s quad camera setup, integrated with AI capabilities, unlocks true quality improvements. Images of video frames define the quality improvements over the S24 Ultra.

Galaxy S25 Ultra Camera System:

Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra comes with a quad rear camera setup, plus an Infinity-O selfie camera. Here are the specifications and key details of each image sensor used in the S25 Ultra:

Rear Cameras:

Main Camera:

• Resolution: 200MP
• Sensor: ISOCELL HP2 (with a small process upgrade)
• Aperture: f/1.7
• Sensor Size: 1/1.3″
• Pixel Size: 0.6-2.4 µm (with pixel binning)
• Features: Multi-directional PDAF, OIS

Ultra-Wide Camera:

• Resolution: 50MP
• Sensor: ISOCELL JN3
• Aperture: f/1.9
• Sensor Size: 1/2.52″
• Pixel Size: 0.7 µm
• Features: Dual-pixel PDAF, Super Steady video

3x Telephoto Camera:

• Resolution: 10MP
• Sensor: Sony IMX754
• Aperture: f/2.4
• Sensor Size: 1/3.52″
• Pixel Size: 1.12 µm
• Features: PDAF, OIS

5x Telephoto Camera:

• Resolution: 50MP
• Sensor: Sony IMX854
• Aperture: f/3.4
• Sensor Size: 1/2.52″
• Pixel Size: 0.7 µm
• Features: PDAF, OIS

Front Camera:

• Resolution: 12MP
• Sensor: ISOCELL 3LU
• Aperture: f/2.2
• Sensor Size: 1/3.2″
• Pixel Size: 1.12 µm
• Features: PDAF