Redesign and new features for current Samsung phones: First look at UI 9.5 coming with the Galaxy S27
It will take some time before users of current Samsung phones receive One UI 9.5. We expect the final version to roll out no earlier than the first quarter of 2027, after Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy S27, Galaxy S27+, Galaxy S27 Pro and Galaxy S27 Ultra, which will be the first devices to launch with One UI 9.5. However, initial screenshots currently being shared by an X user from England prove that Samsung is already hard at work on the next One UI version and that a redesign is apparently planned.
The owner of a Galaxy S26 Ultra (available here on Amazon US) has apparently installed an early internal One UI 9.5 test version from Samsung on their phone, something we definitely do not recommend doing if you use your Samsung phone as a daily driver. Whether Samsung adopts the “Liquid Glass” look Apple introduced with iOS 26 as many other Android OEMs are currently doing, was unclear for a long time. However, the screenshots below suggest that some of the three-dimensional and semi-transparent UI elements will also be coming to future versions of One UI.
App Lock and new design elements
Users of smartphones from other manufacturers are probably familiar with a feature called “App Lock,” which will apparently be coming to Galaxy phones next year as well. The first two screenshots show how that feature looks like in the current One UI 9.5 test version, using Outlook as an example. The feature allows you to secure specific apps with your standard unlock password or fingerprint. The other images show some of the updated UI elements such as the brief widget, the search bar in the dialer app or the volume control for system sounds. As you can see, Samsung is definitely going for a slightly more modern and three-dimensional glass look, though it’s still rather subtle for now. In addition, the position of some icons has changed, such as the search icon in the phone app.
And now in light mode...
The images below show some of the UI elements in light mode, as opposed to the dark mode shown above. In general, it should be noted that this test version is only the second internal One UI 9.5 build, which is not yet intended for public beta testing and does not yet include all features and design changes planned for the final version. One thing is already becoming clear, though: While One UI 9 mostly upgrades to Android 17, Samsung is likely planning a redesign plus new features for the launch of the Galaxy S27 series in early 2027. It remains to be seen how subtle or radical the redesign will ultimately be.
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