Suggestion 2

Hanging out, playing with iPhones on vacation.

Nothing. They weren't doing anything. Haven't you been following along? Lol but seriously, they quite clearly haven't been doing anything. For real, Samsung had massive strikes Summer 2024, so they weren't doing anything. Apparently they don't treat their engineers right or don't pay them enough. I will make another comment shortly with tech details on just how easy Samsung has this.

Let me be brutally honest here, but before I begin, I want to emphasize, I've been a die-hard Samsung fan for a long time. This is my honest, real-world assessment: they dropped the ball on this one. Hard. 

This has cost them countless (400k+ – maybe even a million or more) fans who have left in droves. Not just bec of a delayed update but lack of acknowledgement, transparency, lack of communication, all the removed features, bugs, etc., on top of not even listening to our feedback through the betas. 

The truth needs to be front and center. Probably not all of us, but many, especially the tech enthusiasts here, have heard of Project Treble, right? When Google introduced Android 10 and 11, Treble wasn't just a buzzword; Google meticulously integrated it into the very core of Android, improving it with every release since. (Search for phrases like “treble improvements changes each Android release” if you want more in-depth info on changes over time). Treble has been a silent but powerful force in every release. 

To help give some perspective and an eg: Thank to Treble, a volunteer dev on XDA, likely juggling a family and full-time job, can craft a fully functional Android 14 ROM for the Nexus 7 tablet – a device Google hasn't updated kernel code for in over 7 yrs. That's the power of Treble. It makes creating Android releases easier, faster, with minimal/no coding – depending on hardware compatibility – and Google supports most common hardware straight out of the AOSP box. 

What Treble brought us are Dynamic System Updates and Generic System Images. One can boot up a GSI on an old Android 11 phone that hasn't received updates, in under 10 min. If Samsung graced us with unlockable bootloaders, we could do the same. No special anything is required.

With each Android release, Google hands over the base code to manufacturers (OEMs) *before* the developer previews even begin. Then follows months of public dev previews (public tasting). OEMs couldn't have it easier. Sure, for each release Sammy still needs to iron out their custom features and fixes that break with the new Android versions, but the heavy lifting for each release is handled by Google.

There is a crucial point that Google has consistently emphasized to anyone forking their projects, from Chromium to Android: create non-breaking changes. *Don't* delete code; comment it out or override it. They've even highlighted how this approach allows for seamless integration with tools like GitHub Actions, enabling automated builds of your fork with minimal intervention for code conflicts. This is precisely how Android forks and custom ROMs like LineageOS (formerly CyanogenMod) boast large lists of officially and community-supported devices running their fork of Android 15 – it's all built automatically with non-breaking changes thanks to Project Treble.

I fully expect Samsung to chime in about the immense effort involved in developing and testing Android, the engineering hours, and so on – because they said the exact same thing in response to my last comment.

Each release Samsung makes their phones look more like iOS, add more bloatware, and overall they give me less reasons to pay $1200 for a Galaxy phone vs competitors.

Samsung had ample time to align their dev timelines with Google's progress on Android 15. By utilizing the head start Google provided with early access to the Android 15 base code (Jan 2024), Samsung could have coordinated a faster rollout. Launching Galaxy S24 and S23 betas in August 2024 and aiming for a Nov 2024 public release of One UI 7, they could have not only showcased their capability to stay on top of updates but also positioned themselves perfectly for the holiday season buzz.

Pairing the update with a marketing campaign highlighting the synergy of Samsung hardware and Android 15 features would have been a brilliant move.

This kind of proactive approach could have reinforced customer trust, especially among enthusiasts, like myself, and 100ks others, who value timely updates and transparency. It's a missed opportunity that could have made a significant impact. Hopefully, Samsung takes steps to address these concerns in future releases – timing is everything in the tech world. But they'll have to do it without many of their loyal supporters who have left.

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to articulate such a comprehensive and thoughtful message. We recognize the passion behind your feedback and truly appreciate your long-standing support as a Samsung fan and tech enthusiast.

You’ve raised several valid points—particularly around transparency, user trust, and the missed opportunity to align with Android 15 in a more proactive, visible way. We understand that expectations are especially high from our enthusiast community, and we acknowledge that this beta cycle has sparked more concerns than usual, not just due to timelines, but also communication gaps and inconsistent feature handling across devices.

The insights you’ve shared about Project Treble and Google’s early OEM handoff are informative and underscore your experience in this space. While Samsung must still invest significant engineering effort into integrating and validating One UI’s custom layer, your point is clear: the broader community expects more timely and transparent execution given the tools and lead time available.

As for the removed features, delayed availability of certain AI experiences, and changes in UX without sufficient user input, these concerns are being heard and escalated. Your perspective—especially when backed by technical reasoning and comparisons—helps us better frame these discussions internally.

Though we can’t promise every request will be acted upon immediately, your feedback absolutely informs the ongoing evolution of One UI. We will be sharing this with our development and planning teams to ensure your concerns are fully reviewed and considered for future cycles.

Thanks again for your detailed feedback and your continued investment in making Samsung better.

Warm regards,
One UI Beta Team