1mo ago

Samsung drops Android 16 beta for Galaxy S25 with more AI you probably don’t want

arstechnica.com

Samsung @lemdro.id

Alphane Moon @lemmy.world

1mo ago

Samsung drops Android 16 beta for Galaxy S25 with more AI you probably don’t want

arstechnica.com /gadgets/2025/05/samsung-drops-android-16-beta-for-galaxy-s25-with-more-ai-you-probably-dont-want/

40 comments

Shit, Samsung dropped a recent update that turned my S24 into an iPhone. It's the most annoying update and makes me want to root my phone.
- Thank God I'm not the only one who absolutely hates this. Over a decade ago, I used an iPhone for a month before returning it for an Android because I hated it so much.
- The OneUI update? You can undo most of the annoyingness. But the overall look change is downright annoying I'd agree.
  
  Battery charge status is now on the bottom instead of the middle, oh dear, now you have to make sure nothing is covering that part of the screen. Battery pill: dumb.
  The swipes/gestures/resizes can be disabled, but then unless you theme it, you're stuck with their iOS icons. And if you haven't noticed, say you turn off the iOS Control Center (quick settings on Samsung) gesture to get back double-swipe to quick settings, they changed the touch point to make that happen, and you can now pull down quick settings from the middle of the display accidentally, as well as being more sensitive in general.
  OS seems slower and chunkier, even on S24.
  Redoing all the lock screens to be more Apple-like with Apple-level widget limitations and removing the ability to see notifications/icons is annoying as well. There's one that puts the time towards the upper left that used to just have a cute little row of notification icons to let you know what was going on. No more! Now it's this neutered garbage.
  Samsung used to be pretty reliable at releasing OS updates that didn't break core Samsung behavior, and actually try to be unique.
  Now their phones are just like one of those Chinese iPhone knockoffs.
- Being able to revert back to OneUI 6.1 would be so delightful. OneUI 7 is trash. Too bad, at least on the Qualcomm variants (so US and most of world) there's no way to unlock, no way to sideload, no way to roll back. You're just stuck with whatever pile of shit they choose to feed you.
  Oddly, one of the most annoying aspects of OneUI 7, is how damn slow the phone locks from the time when you press the power button to screen-dark. Half the time I figure I didn't push the button, so I hit it again, and launch the camera in my pocket instead of locking the screen.
- I wouldn't say it looks like an iphone that much, what do you not like?
- I hate it so much, it's so bad...
- I've got the update waiting to be installed. I read the reviews and haven't installed it. But it nags me every few hours.
- I use nova launcher. My Samsung phone still pretty much looks like android from 10 years ago.
  
  Just be careful, Nova Launcher is owned by a user telemetry collection company now and the majority of the original dev team was kicked from the project not too long ago.
  That was enough reason for me to lose trust in them and switch to something else. If the app hasn't gotten shady yet, I feel it is only a matter of time.
- Yup and there is no way to roll it back.
  If I wanted and apple product I would have bought an apple product. This is my last Samsung device after being all in on Samsung - tablet, earbuds, phone, watch, no more...
  
  Funny/sad thing is, even Apple lets you downgrade your OS for a couple of weeks after a major release.
From the article: "The company claims One UI 8 brings "multimodal capabilities, UX tailored to different device form factors, and personalized, proactive suggestions." Having used the new OS for a few hours, it doesn't seem like much has changed with Samsung's AI implementation."
If you are curious, the article goes into more detail about the tweaks to the AI layer. I just wanted to provide a TLDR for those keeping up with the general AI shenanigans.
My phone's battery is discharging at an alarming rate. One of the things I want to try is removing Gemini. Anyone knows it's URI so that I remove it through ADB?
- I believe it's built into the Google app by default com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox
- Just use Shizuku+Canta. You can even remove the galaxy store and secure folder
- Theres a project called Universal Android Debloater NG that can help
  Alternatively you can use a custom ROM / buy a phone that supports a custom ROM next time youre in the market
  
  Pretty much have to buy a phone that supports a custom ROM as the Qualcomm-based Samsung phones are basically impossible to downgrade unless an exploit is discovered.
  
  It's a company provided phone and I need Knox. Already using that de bloater, but finding the app URI always screws me over :)
Its crazy the lack of phones being developed without ai and with physical keyboards.
Any idiot can see there would be a demand for a minimalist phone with retro vibes but I guess the USA wants everything to be efficiently Spyware.
- They are being made by smaller companies, the problem is that the so-called "demand" always has excuses as to why they don't buy them. It was the same with small phones - many people claimed to want them yet the sales didn't reflect that.
  
  Well I would definitely buy a phone with a physical keyboard if I had any available around me. Years ago I even bought that moto Z phone that allowed attachable devices because they said there would be a keyboard for it - but they never released any.
  The AI stuff I don't mind as much as long as long as it remains being just software that I can disable.
  
  As someone who held on to the Pixel 4a for as long as possible, I feel like my demand should have been felt. Can't speak for others.
"probably" more like "definitely"
the new gods of silicon valley demand that you bow to AI. Commoners must accept it without complaint
I Remember debloating my Note 8 tablet (N5100) back in the JellyBean era because TouchWiz was basically bloatware with some UX sprinkled on top. Looks like we're back at it.

40 comments