One UI 9 could have caught up to Google, but Samsung is still missing one thing

I remember the pain of firing up Samsung’s TouchWiz on my Galaxy phones. The software was laggy, unintuitive, and rarely updated. Quarterly security patches on flagship phones would be unacceptable in 2026, but that was the norm for Samsung devices. That all changed with the introduction of One UI. Samsung flipped the script and became known for reliable software with timely updates.

One UI 9 running Android 17 is undoubtedly another solid software update. It’s been a smooth experience so far on my Galaxy S26 Plus, and Samsung’s been spot-on with patches. But while the company has made great strides in software, its pitch for Galaxy AI still leaves me unconvinced. Features like Now Brief and Now Nudge haven’t lived up to their potential, and Google’s Pixel software does a better job of making AI feel like a natural part of the experience.

If Samsung wants software and Galaxy AI to be reasons to choose a Galaxy over any other phone, it still has work to do.

Now Nudge and Now Brief still aren’t worth the price of admission

At the risk of dating myself, I constantly feel like I’m in the Peanuts cartoon whenever Samsung announces its made improvements to Now Brief. I’m Charlie Brown, and Samsung is Lucy, because without fail, I’ll get excited about Now Brief’s potential again, only for Samsung to pull the football away before I can kick it. One UI 9 is no exception.

My expectations weren’t even that high this time around. I would’ve settled for Now Brief serving up a news story that at least matched my interests. I curated Samsung News, highlighting favorites and topics I wanted to follow. But when I fired up Now Brief on One UI 9 a couple of days later, I got the same random, morbid story about a murder or some other crime somewhere in the country. It’s been the same for over two years now.

To be completely fair to Samsung, I have heard of some people having more success. It pulls in some health data and is decent with appointments, but it feels nothing like the generative AI assistant we were promised when the feature launched.

Now Nudge is in the same category. I love the idea and its potential, but like Google’s Magic Cue, it’s come up short. Triggering the contextual cues is inconsistent, and it doesn’t feel like the assistive AI system layer Samsung promises. I’m willing to give Now Nudge more time, but Samsung clearly has work to do if it wants to convince me Galaxy AI is a reason to buy its phones.

My FanCam and generative photo editing feel a step behind

Another touted selling point of One UI 9 is improved AI photo and video editing. My FanCam is genuinely interesting, and in specific instances, I’ll appreciate it’s there. The feature takes video you’ve already shot and reframes the action around a specific person. If you’re a content creator or just capturing video of your child during a school play, it’s a fantastic way to create clean video.

However, I’d be tempted to use natural-language, generative photo editing far more often, and the implementation isn’t nearly as clean on One UI 9 as it is on Pixel software. I always feel like an extra step is required to get where I need to go, and Samsung’s software doesn’t handle multiple edits at once as well as my Pixel 11 Pro does.

Google and Samsung have a close relationship when it comes to AI crossover, so it’s never going to be the case that a Pixel device has an AI feature for considerably longer than a Galaxy device, but that doesn’t mean the implementations will always be intuitive on both. Google’s done a much better job making Gemini Intelligence feel like a more important part of the user experience, and new features like Rambler continue to drive that home.

One U 9 still offers plenty for Samsung fans

I may not buy Samsung’s sales pitch about the importance of Galaxy AI, but that doesn’t mean I hate my One UI 9 experience. I do enjoy the extra customization options in the Quick Panel. It makes it easier to get to the toggles I need, and I’m all for making the UI more intuitive. The software is also rock solid. I’ve used iOS 27, Google’s Material 3 Expressive design, and One UI 9 extensively over the last few months, and I get the most consistent performance from Samsung — and that’s worth something.

One UI 9 is also excellent if you’re a foldable user. Multitasking is a pleasure on my Galaxy Z Fold 8, and Samsung has made genuine improvements to the experience.

I’m only asking for more and grading on a higher curve because Samsung has inadvertently asked for it. When you stop making significant year-over-year improvements on expensive flagships and highlight software and Galaxy AI as reasons to upgrade, we’re justified in expecting more. One UI is by no means in a bad place. It’s the preferred Android flavor for many, and for good reason. However, if Samsung wants me to believe Galaxy AI is a reason I part with hard-earned dollars, it has plenty of work to do to convince me.