If you’re reading this site and haven’t heard the name TouchWiz, I’d be surprised. That’s Samsung’s moniker for its Android “skin,” the modifications it makes both visually and functionally atop what is Google’s most pure version of Android. TouchWiz definitely has a name for itself, and it’s not a good one. It has gotten better in recent years, but TouchWiz has long equated to laggy UI, ugly design, and not-much-more-than-a-gimmick software additions.
Now, it appears, Samsung is officially moving on from the baggage-carrying TouchWiz branding.
It is no secret that Android users love to customize their devices. Without diving too deep into rooting, the Play Store already offers a great deal of apps capable of sneaking their way into the phone’s UI and changing profoundly how the handset operates for a lot of day-to-day use stuff – think third party launchers. The lock screen is obe area where a lot of developers have focused, even though the arrival of Lollipop mostly eliminated widgets’ integration and standardized its look.
Just when I thought Samsung may have ended surprising me with its software, however, it came up with one very smart trick up its sleeve. By updating the Samsung’s System UI (a core system application), an app called ‘Good Lock’ – downloadable on the Galaxy Apps store – not only changes the standard look of Samsung’s lock screen, but the very way notifications are managed, the toggles’ UI, and even the unlocking animation. It does so all while bringing widgets back with an almost radical and intelligent (if a bit complicated) redesign…
“Be together, not the same” is the mantra Google has been spreading for quite some time now. It’s a good reflection of its intent and purpose; with 1.5 billion active users and a myriad of OEM partners contributing to its growth, the OS couldn’t ask for more diversity. Among Android enthusiasts, however, a vastly shared belief is that the stock, unadulterated, ‘vanilla’ experience delivered by Google is generally superior to basically any of the offerings brought to the table by third parties. This mainly stems from a bad history that saw manufacturers continuously deliver sub-par experiences and often lag far behind in the update cycle, not to mention the numerous design inconsistencies which added up to Google’s own often messy and unclear aesthetics. When Material Design was introduced back in 2014, however, a few things started to change.
For one, notoriously ill-designed UIs such as those from LG and Samsung (as well as from HTC, Sony, and most others) started to follow Google’s now precise and definite guidelines more closely, giving Android an overall sense of basic consistency at least across major instances. Samsung’s TouchWiz, in particular, got often criticized over the years because of its excessive bloatware and poor design choices, but with the massive hardware overhaul brought by the Galaxy S6 last year, software too got a considerable Lollipop-based facelift which went a little under the radar. The Galaxy S7 brought the whole thing one step further, and even coming from a long series of stock Android devices, I have to admit that my experience with TouchWiz wasn’t just not bad, but left me thinking of it as an outright smart, good-looking and overall well designed ‘skin’…
Samsung has already shown off the new Edge panel for devices like the Galaxy S6 Edge and Edge+ which comes as part of the Android Marshmallow update. Today, it detailed some of the other, perhaps more important, additions coming to Galaxy phones with Android 6.0 which started rolling out two days ago.
With the latest version of Android, version 6.0 Marshmallow, reportedly scheduled to start arriving for Samsung devices at the end of the year and into next, today we get a look at changes to Samsung’s TouchWiz overlay coming in the update via XDA-Developers.
Among the changes are tweaks to the user interface (most noticeably in the notifications panel) with a new color palette that the report notes is now “ predominantly white, with the same green accents” as the previous design, as pictured above on a Note 5.
There are touches of Material design throughout, new animations, and cleaned-up menus, while some of the stock TouchWiz apps also get a fresh coat of paint. Here’s a quick look at few: Expand Expanding Close
Today we’re taking a look at Samsung’s Galaxy Note 5. As we’ve seen with Samsung’s previous release, design changes are happening across the board, but it’s not without some compromises…
It’s definitely been an exciting time in tech these past few months, but on April 10, 2015 Samsung unleashed its Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge to the world and quickly became a favorite among Android users. The Galaxy S6 takes a radically different approach when compared to its predecessor the Galaxy S5, but this is definitely not a bad thing.
Today we’re going to discuss what makes Samsung’s latest flagship so amazing as well as go over a couple of shortcomings. I’ve been using the Galaxy S6 for a couple of weeks now and this is my review…
Samsung today has officially unveiled the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge at its event in Barcelona during Mobile World Congress. The devices feature a new design as well as all sorts of updated specifications under the hood. Gone is the classic all-plastic look and feel and in is a mixture of glass and metal.
News has been tossed around lately that Samsung’s TouchWiz will be losing a lot of weight with the release of the Samsung Galaxy S6, and now SamMobile is back with a few more details as to what changes the Korean company will be making. The software is being optimized to be “near stock” in terms of performance, but new information suggests that Samsung will also be preloading a slew of apps from Microsoft’s productivity suite. Expand Expanding Close
TouchWiz has long been known as being far too full of bloat and unnecessary software, but the real problem with Samsung’s version of Android is that these added features come with a hard hit on performance. According to a report this morning from SamMobile, the Korean company might be going as far as to remove all features from the OS that can possibly be downloaded—and this just so happens to coincide with today’s market share numbers showing that Apple and Samsung were neck-and-neck in Q4.
When Google released its Android distribution numbers for December earlier this week, Lollipop was notably missing from the chart as it had not gained enough of the market to appear. In a move that will slowly start to get Lollipop onto more devices, however, Samsung this evening has started to rollout its Lollipop update to the Galaxy S5. At this point, though, the update is only rolling out to the Poland Galaxy S5 variant (via SamMobile).
Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen pre-release versions of Android 5.0 running on a Samsung Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S5. Today, however, we’ll be taking a look at Google’s new mobile operating system on a Galaxy Note 3. Described as a rough draft of the Android 5.0, this alleged internal build of Lollipop for Samsung’s king-size smartphone should help give an idea what’s in store for owners of this popular handset. Expand Expanding Close
At this point, it’s very clear that Google’s Nexus 6 and Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 are the two hottest Android phablets on the market. These two monster-sized smartphones are both great in many ways, but what makes them so different? In this article, we’re going to be comparing the Nexus 6 to the Galaxy Note 4. This comparison won’t get too in-depth with every single feature from each device, but it’s nice to know how these two stack up against each other.
We’ll be taking a brief look at features, specifications, design, and camera performance in this comparison and hopefully give you a good idea of what each device has to offer. Also, be sure to check out our full review of the Galaxy Note 4 and Nexus 6 for more details on each device. These two Android smartphones are complete opposites in terms of features and design, but which one is right for you? Let’s go ahead and find out…
Samsung this evening has finally officially unveiled the Galaxy Mega 2, a follow-up to last year’s Galaxy Mega 5.8, for overseas countries. But while the device has a gargantuan screen, its specs are nothing to be too impressed with. The Galaxy Mega 2 features a 6-inch display, up from the 5.8-inch model it is replacing, with a 720p display.
arsTechnica has put together a handy look at which manufacturers & carriers are quickest and slowest to roll out an Android update on their older devices. Using the KitKat launch date of 31st October 2013, arsTechnica measured how long it took for the earliest available OTA update for devices originally sold with an earlier version of Android, starting with the previous-generation flagship devices.
The winner for update times is, of course, the Nexus line. Stock software and a head start from being Google got KitKat out the door in just 14 days.
As for everyone else, how quickly they update seems to depend on how complicated their skin is and how much they take advantage of the update mechanisms Google has created …
I’ve made the Samsung Galaxy S5 Active on AT&T my daily driver for a month now to see how its durability and physical buttons handled the long term punishment without a case or trying to treat it nicely. Here are some observations. Expand Expanding Close
Samsung this afternoon announced a quartet of new budget-focused Galaxy smartphones, that in reality, are pretty forgettable. Firstly, the South Korean company unveiled the Galaxy Core II, which features a 4.5-inch WVGA display. The device is powered by a 1.2GHz processor paired with a 2,000mAh battery. Next up, Samsung announced the Galaxy Ace 4, which is slightly less powerful with a dual-cire 1.2GHz processor. It features a 1,800mAh battery coupled with LTE connectivity. A slightly less powerful 3G model is available with a 1GHz processor and a 1,500mAh battery.
The co-branded devices will combine popular Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 hardware with customized NOOK software to give customers powerful, full-featured tablets that are designed for reading …
About a year later than first expected, Samsung has finally announced its first smartphone running Tizen instead of Android, the Samsung Z.
While this particular handset is only launching in Russia initially (sometime in Q3), it’s notable in a couple of ways. First, the spec – while not cutting edge – is pretty decent. Powered by a 2.3GHz quad-core processor and 2GB RAM, it has a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display (though only in 1280×720 resolution) and the fingerprint sensor that has so far been exclusive to the S5. It’s not the low-end spec many had expected from Tizen … Expand Expanding Close
When it comes to smartphones people often go gaga for specs and while beefy processors and gigabytes of RAM always sound good, quality software can be a real game changer. For example, Samsung’s new Galaxy S5 ships with a 2.5GHz quad-core processor pushed by 2GB of RAM. On paper this handset should breeze through everyday tasks and crush a bargain bin device like Motorola’s Moto E in any performance-based challenge.
Samsung and HTC are going head-to-head competing to be the best Android smartphone in 2014. There’s no doubt that 2014 will be filled with a lot of exciting releases, but the Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One (M8) are among the first to arrive. The Galaxy S5 may be a worthy upgrade over its predecessor, but how does it compare to the HTC One (M8)? Both devices are packed with high-end specifications and comparably priced, but the question is, which one should you buy? Take a look at our comparison video above for all of the details.
If you’ve been debating on upgrading to the Samsung Galaxy S5, there are definitely a few things you need to know. Is it worth upgrading to Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone? If you currently own a Galaxy S4, you may be better off waiting for the Galaxy S6. In the video above, we compare the features and specifications between the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Galaxy S4. In the video above, we’ve laid out all of the facts to help you make an informed decision.
If hardware quality was the only factor in buying a phone, you could stop reading right here and go out and buy the HTC One M8 – it is the best looking, best built (AFAICT after 3 days) phone out there, bar none.
The front will look familiar, if elongated, to current One owners. It still has separated stereo speakers which incidentally are again the best you’ll hear in a phone by a long shot, but the screen is bigger and unfortunately so is the bezel around the screens.
That extra length tallies to a centimeter taller than its predecessor making an already big phone now almost phablet-like in stature. Add to that HTC’s insistence of putting a power button on top of the phone which you must shimmy up and down to reach and you’ve got yourself some usability experience issues before you even turn on the phone.
The back of my gray “stainless steel” unit matches up nicely with my fridge in the kitchen. I mean that in the nicest possible way. It looks gorgeous, though I’m not sure I’d say the same for other color variations offered, particularly the gold model. The improved curves are super nice in the hand and also look the part. You’d almost forgive how long this thing is…almost.
The M8 may not be terribly repairable by iFixit standards, but HTC has your back with a pretty impressive repair plan called HTC Customer Advantage. In it, you get a free screen repair within 6 months, a somewhat vague promise to keep Android updated to the most recent version (the website says “We are committed to keeping you current” but at the show they said 2 years of upgrades), and 25-50GB of extra Google Drive space.
Besides the length coupled with the power button, I’m still a huge fan of the exterior. But then there is the interior with HTC’s insistence on Sense 6.0 and this new 3-camera system… Expand Expanding Close
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