Samsung's One UI 8.0 based on Android 16 tipped to resurrect old TouchWiz feature

Android 16 is now slated to be here far sooner than usual based on Google's release pattern of the last several years. Now, Samsung is also reportedly flouting predictions made about its software by making a start on making the upcoming major software upgrade its own.

SmartPrix claims to have found references to the successor to the skin currently found on top-end smartphones such as the Galaxy S24 Ultra (now available on Amazon) in a recent code tear-down. Despite its advanced-looking name, "One UI 8" is apparently ready to activate a blast from the past.

It is now associated with novel strings that reference a name called Decal Shader: a blast from the past as it has not been seen since One UI's distant forebear TouchWiz had been a thing.

The "feature" is thought to enhance homescreen transitions compared to those of One UI 7, although the well-known leaker Ice Universe thinks it is a new kind of lockscreen animation with a ripple effect. Should its new leak prove accurate, it is not likely to be ready by the time the new Galaxy S25 series debuts in early 2025.