GeezerVison

Prior to the release of One UI, early builds of the then new software interface made its way to the public in September 2018, which was internally named as Samsung Experience 10.^[5] The said software reported to include several refinements from its predecessor, Samsung Experience, which included improvements to the user interface, such as placing common features and user interface elements along the middle of the screen rather than near the top.^[6] The software skin was also the first in Android to implement a system-wide Dark mode (then called as "Night mode") interface (which gives UI elements and supported applications a darkened color scheme).^[7]

The first version of One UI (known as One UI 1.0) was announced and released on 7 November 2018 at the Samsung Developer Conference,^[8] which now features refined icons and improvements to one-hand usage, making a "natural experience" on larger screen sizes^[9] and makes them easier to reach with a user's thumb when using the device one-handed.^[10]

For similar reasons, apps use large headers to push their main content towards the vertical center of the screen.^[11] The navigation bar supports the use of gestures and the usual 3-button system.^[12] As with Android Pie upstream, the Overview screen of recent apps uses a horizontal layout, as opposed to the vertical layout of previous versions.^[13] Dark mode was later implemented to other manufacturers from Android 10^[14] and on IOS 13.^[15]

Upon the release of the first version, reviews for the software were mixed, praising for the design and organization improvements, but with criticism on the new gesture-based navigation being "half-baked" by some, with users having to swipe up from the bottom of the device in the three locations of the "buttons" to navigate.^[16][17][18]

When One UI launched in late 2018, the default system font continued to be the Google-developed Roboto. As before, Samsung have pre-installed their own Samsung Sans typeface^[19] and the "fun" typefaces Choco Cooky, Cool Jazz and Rosemary as options. One UI also introduced an additional pre-installed font, Samsung One,^[20] a lighter typeface that was originally released in 2016 as an option from the Galaxy Store.^[21][22][23]

Although Samsung Experience was rebranded to One UI in late 2018, some apps like Settings or the Calendar still identify One UI 1.0–1.5 as Samsung Experience. This would be corrected with One UI 2 as the Samsung Experience name would later fade away with the release of Android 10 for those supported devices. Additionally, app versions were 10.x and with each generation of One UI, the version of apps was incremented by 1 for every One UI version.

Since then, numerous One UI versions were released, alongside several major changes.^[24] With the release of One UI 3.1 in 2021, Google Messages has been pre-installed for most devices globally, until it became the default messaging app on Galaxy devices sold only in the U.S. since July 2026.^[25] Also in 2021, Samsung and Google announced the wearable version of Tizen and Wear OS were being merged.^[26][27]

With the release of One UI 6.0 in 2023, Roboto was replaced as the default system font by a new typeface, One UI Sans.^[28][29][30] Roboto continues to be pre-installed as an option, now under its own name.^[28]

One UI 7.0 became the shortest-lived among all released versions^[31] and the only version to not have an incremental version (e.g. x.1),^[32] due to its delayed roll out.^[33] Alongside the release of One UI 7.0 in 2024, One UI became the default interface on its Tizen-based smart TVs, monitors, projectors,^[34] and home appliances.^[35]