New findings reveal that Samsung’s upcoming One UI 8.5 update for Galaxy devices will likely make it easier to use gesture navigation on a new device, something Samsung is years behind the rest of the Android industry on.
Google introduced full-fledged gesture navigation to Android with the release of Android 10 back in 2019. The iPhone-like system has since become the default for new devices, with the classic three-button navigation available as an option in the Settings. On most devices, users are presented with an option to pick which system they prefer during the setup process.
On Samsung devices, though, gesture navigation is all but ignored.
Samsung defaults its devices to the three-button setting, and doesn’t present users with an option to pick between buttons and gesture navigation during setup on a new Galaxy device. Instead, users must dive into the settings to change it, assuming they know it exists in the first place. That’s apparently set to change with One UI 8.5.
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SammyGuru found that Samsung is building a new option that allows users to select between three-button and gesture navigation during the setup process on a new Galaxy device. This option was found in “an early One UI 8 build,” but isn’t live on Galaxy Z Fold 7 or Flip 7, implying we may not see this until the Galaxy S26 series launches with One UI 8.5 (per Samsung’s new software schedule).
That said, this is mostly a guess for the time being. Samsung might add this option in One UI 8.5 (and that does seem to be the most logical conclusion), but there’s no guarantee.
What do you think about the potential change?
Meanwhile, we’re still waiting for the full rollout of One UI 8 outside of Samsung’s new foldables, which should be any time now.
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