Samsung is already working on its next software, One UI 8, even though they haven’t released the official One UI 7 update yet. One UI 8 is going to be based on Android 16, which is the next big update for Android phones.
One cool thing about One UI 8 is that it’s going to have something called a “decal shader.” This means the icons and animations on your phone will look a lot nicer because they can have textures like your wallpapers. So, if you’ve got a cool wallpaper, your icons might start to match it in a way that looks really good.
Samsung might be testing Android 16 secretly. Since Android 16 is coming out earlier than usual, Samsung might be speeding up to make sure One UI 8 is ready. This decal shader thing could be part of that because it’s in the launcher app which is what you see when you use your phone’s home screen.
One UI 8 isn’t here yet, but when it does come, it’ll probably be on new phones like the Galaxy S25, and might even update older ones like the S24, S23, and S22 series. But we can’t say for sure which phones will get it since it’s not official yet.
The name of Android 16 is supposed to be “baklava,” which is a yummy Turkish dessert. It’s kind of fun to think of your phone update named after a sweet treat. Android 16 is expected to hit the market in the second quarter of 2025, so we’ve got a bit of a wait.
Other phone makers like Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, and OnePlus are likely working on their own updates too, getting ready for this new Android version. They might start testing beta versions where users can try out the new features before everyone else.
So, even though we’re still waiting for One UI 7 to become more widespread, knowing Samsung’s already thinking about One UI 8 with Android 16 is pretty exciting. It shows they’re always looking to make our phones look and work better.
