Samsung's One UI 8 Might Just Be One UI 7.1 Under A Different Name

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Summary

Samsung will seemingly only introduce minor changes in One UI 8.
It could expand Now Brief and Log video recording to the Z Fold 6 and Flip 6.
Quick Share may get an updated interface with dedicated Send and Receive tabs.

Amidst Samsung’s messy and long-delayed One UI 7 rollout, a recent leak showcased some of the changes the company might introduce with Android 16-based One UI 8. Now, another new One UI 8 leak has popped up on the internet, highlighting further changes that Samsung plans to make to its next Android skin.

The folks at SamMobile got their hands on an early One UI 8 firmware for the Galaxy Z Flip 6. According to them, the update — at least in its current test build — packs minor changes. They even say that Samsung could’ve rolled out these features with One UI 7 but chose not to.

As a previous leak showcased, One UI 8 will bring Now Brief to Samsung’s 2024 flagships. The report says this should not be surprising since the code for this feature is already present in existing One UI 7 builds. The company chose not to. Log video recording, which debuted on the Galaxy S25 and made its way to the Galaxy S24 with One UI 7, will also roll out to the Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 with Android 16.

There are no major UI changes, with the early One UI 8 firmware looking the same as One UI 7. The only noticeable change is the addition of shaded buttons in the Quick Settings panel, but this might be a bug, as it did not appear for the SamMobile team in the other Z Flip 6 unit they used. Some Samsung apps have also received a minor UI makeover, switching to encircled buttons for a modern look. Nothing substantial, but they bring the interface in line with One UI 7’s more polished look.

One major functional change is in Quick Share. It now includes dedicated Send and Receive tabs. When you switch to the Receive tab, your device automatically becomes visible to nearby users for 10 minutes.

One UI 8 will be light on changes

Given that this is still an early One UI 8 beta internal build, we might see Samsung add more features and enhancements to the final release. After all, the company will only push One UI 8 to its devices after Google officially releases Android 16 in June.

Still, don’t expect One UI 8 to bring radical new features, especially since it will arrive within months of One UI 7 going live, which itself introduced a major UI overhaul.