Samsung hosted the Samsung Developer Conference (SDC 2018) in San Francisco, California on Wednesday. At the SDC keynote event, Samsung announced that its foldable phone is a reality, however, as many expected, it didn’t launch the phone. The South Korean smartphone manufacturer just announced the Infinity Flex Display panel which will be used on the foldable phone. This panel Samsung says will let users use the phone as a smartphone as well as like a tablet when the folds are opened. In addition to this, Samsung also announced One UI which will run the foldable phone. Besides that, the company also mentioned that Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+, and Galaxy Note 9 receive One UI based on Android 9.0 Pie in January next year.
"We will be releasing One UI for the Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+, and the Note 9 starting January next year," Jee Won Lee, Senior Designer of UX Design of Samsung noted at the SDC 2018 keynote. The South Korean smartphone manufacturer says that the Samsung Experience UX in comparison to the One UI is "more natural and comfortable" to use. Lee also said that the UX Design team of Samsung has been working on One UI for a while now and is working on the lines to offer a less cluttered user interface to the users.
Samsung One UI: Features
Almost all Samsung Galaxy smartphones launched in the past couple of years are based on Samsung Experience, which offers a range of new features to users. Meanwhile the new UI – One UI – is aimed at offering much more smooth and comfortable UX. Samsung further notes that the UI is working with the existing hardware – which means phones with curved edges and thin-bezel or what Samsung calls the Infinity Display and also with the next-generation form factors like foldable smartphones. Samsung is set to launch its first foldable phone in 2019, possibly at MWC 2018, with the company's own Infinity Flex Display panels, the company has announced.
Samsung to Announce One UI Open Beta Programme
Samsung has announced that with the help of One UI, the company’s foldable phone will as a smartphone as well as a tablet. An open beta programme for the One UI will be soon available in the US, Germany, and South Korea. The beta programme will be rolled out by the end of this month. Later in the days, Samsung will roll out the programme to other countries including Europe and Asia.
"With One UI, now you see only the essential features related to the task you are carrying out. It's a continuous and fluid experience where the necessary buttons appear when you need them and gently disappear when you don't," said Lee during SDC 2018.
In addition, the Phone app on the One UI will have a dynamic interface, like the search bar and menu tabs will disappear when a number is dialled. "That's because we know the user plans to make a call the smartphone controls blend into the blank area of the screen, but they're still there when you need them now," explained Lee.
