Samsung will allegedly show ads on some low-cost phones with One UI 2.5

Although it is frowned upon by fans and enthusiasts alike, displaying ads in a phone's user interface is more or less 'industry standard.' It is common across several Chinese Android forks. Samsung's yet-to-be-released One UI 2.5 could soon join that list if a recent leak is to be believed.

Tizenhelp stumbled upon some screenshots of Samsung's upcoming One UI 2.5 update. Time-bound ads will soon greet users, allowing them to unlock the phone only after they have watched an advertisement for 15 seconds. The screenshots appear to be from an early version of the software, so it is unclear if the 'feature' will make it to the final build.

Even if it does, Samsung might only restrict it to some regions, as the company runs the risk of getting sued in countries with strong consumer protection laws. Additionally, fifteen seconds can mean the difference between life and death in emergencies, and the last thing one would want to see in that situation is an ad for a burger.

Furthermore, Samsung will run said ads only on low-cost Galaxy A and Galaxy M series phones, presumably to help recoup some of the development costs. One UI 2.5 is expected to make its debut alongside the Galaxy Note 20, and we should know more about it in the coming weeks.

Samsung has been pushing ads on its current-generation offerings running One UI 2.1 as well. Thankfully, none of them are particularly intrusive. However, switching them off is a bit of a pain, as one has to navigate deep into the device's settings to do so.