One UI 7 On My Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Makes My Galaxy S25 Ultra Redundant
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Samsung’s One UI 7 rollout turned into more of a soap opera than the company hoped. We saw initial delays releasing the software to older Galaxy hardware, and then Samsung halted the eventual launch to fix a critical bug it found in the software. I’m still waiting for One UI 7 to come to my older Samsung Galaxy phones, but I’m glad it has finally arrived for my Galaxy S24 Ultra.
I’ve used One UI 7 on my Galaxy S24 Ultra since the beta, and I’ve had experience with the software both before Samsung halted the rollout and after it was patched. My overall experience has been excellent, and I don’t miss many of the things not included in the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s version of One UI 7 that Galaxy S25 Ultra users get. Here’s why One UI 7 on my Galaxy S24 Ultra is making me forget my Galaxy S25 Ultra.
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A Now Bar that works
LOG video for those that need it
I was initially concerned about what One UI 7 features Samsung planned to hold back from the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It’s still a powerful phone, and I hated the company’s stance that devices needed the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy to run many of the company’s advanced AI features. It seemed unfair to people who paid $1,300 only a year ago, who were promised 7 years of updates.
Thankfully, most of what you’ll notice from One UI 7 on the Galaxy S25 Ultra is present on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Now Bar, which is growing on me, runs well on my older Galaxy. I love seeing New York Knicks playoff updates on my lock screen, and I’ve enjoyed using Google Maps on the Now Bar. At launch, the Now Bar wasn’t working properly on my Galaxy S25 Ultra. It didn’t display sports scores, and notifications would disappear. Samsung cleaned up the issues. It’s a valuable tool, and I look forward to more third-party developers getting access for even more uses.
When I test any new update, I’m more concerned with performance than new features.
LOG video is also available for those who need it. It’s a feature that only a few users will use, yet it’s welcome to see Samsung have the confidence in the still-excellent Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset to add its new video capabilities. If year-old hardware couldn’t run Samsung’s latest and greatest upgrades, I’d have serious questions on why we need to spend so much on flagships, but the company quieted most of my concerns with this update.
A significant aesthetic upgrade
Much-needed coat of paint
I’m on record saying Samsung makes the most reliable software on the Android platform, but that doesn’t mean I loved One UI’s aesthetics. The software appeared visually unchanged for years. While I don’t support Android manufacturers lifting so many design cues from Apple, I appreciate what Samsung did with One UI 7. It’s more colorful than One UI 6, with improved icons and widgets, making it easier and more enjoyable for you to customize your experience.
I also love that Samsung finally added a proper app drawer to its software. You don’t realize how frustrating the horizontal app drawer was until it’s gone. I can now swipe up from the bottom and scroll through my apps intuitively. If you’re a fan of the old drawer, that option is still available to you. I’m not a fan of split notifications, but like with the app drawer, you can turn it back to how it was on One UI 6.
Samsung’s camera app got a much-needed upgrade. It has a cleaner interface now and is easier to use. It was difficult with the old interface to make changes on the fly, but I feel the new layout helps with point-and-shoot photography.
New features are great, but they need to be smooth
Performance and battery life
When I test any new update, I’m more concerned with performance than new features. I love getting upgrades to my phone, but if it compromises the experience I was already getting, I get upset. Thankfully, One UI 7 runs well on my Galaxy S24 Ultra. I’ve noticed no slowdowns or hiccups, and the overall experience is enjoyable. I would expect nothing less from a phone powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 with 12GB of RAM, but I’ve been disappointed by poor updates before.
I’m also pleased that the One UI 7 update didn’t mess with the excellent battery life I had been getting from my Galaxy S24 Ultra. I still get two days of use on a single charge, and I haven’t noticed any random battery drains. I don’t know what the critical bug was that Samsung needed to halt the rollout to fix, but I didn’t see any red flags before the update was released.
Good enough to make you forget the Galaxy S25 Ultra
It wasn’t intentional on Samsung’s part to hold back One UI 7 on the Galaxy S24 Ultra to protect Galaxy S25 Ultra sales, but it may have been a happy accident. One UI 7 gives my Galaxy S24 Ultra new life, and I would hold off on upgrading to a new phone if you own one. The lack of Galaxy AI features like Now Brief doesn’t bother me because they don’t do anything meaningful in their current state, and they don’t enhance my experience on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. All told, One UI 7 on the Galaxy S24 Ultra is the best mix of AI and solid hardware in the company’s lineup, and for a lot less than what you’d spend on a new Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
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It’s not an overhaul by any means, but even small changes like (finally) swapping back to a flat touchscreen and seven years of system updates help the Galaxy S24 Ultra stand apart from its predecessors. Galaxy AI’s suite of features are front and center, as well as Google’s latest utilities like Circle to Search, and this AI craze even brings its magic to the Ultra’s cameras for after-the-fact super slo-mo.
