Users of older Samsung Galaxy S series smartphones who want to update to OneUI 7 might be in for some disappointment. Although the list of devices eligible for the OneUI 7 update goes back to the Galaxy S21 series, older models may not have access to all the available features.
According to Android Authority, older Samsung flagships are missing many features in OneUI 7. While these devices have the hardware to support the features, Samsung decided not to port them over. A Reddit user allegedly ranted about the feature lockout on the Galaxy S23 series, calling it a "Mushroom Kingdom-level betrayal". Interestingly, the original post has been deleted.
Now Brief and Audio Eraser are among the excluded features
The user (u/tyrisodin) claimed that he tried porting over the Galaxy S25's version of OneUI 7 to a Galaxy S23 to test some exclusive features, but found that the latter was fully capable of supporting the locked-out features. In other words, Samsung could have included the features but opted not to for some unconfirmed reason. A possible reason is battery consumption, as the Galaxy S23 has a slightly smaller battery and less power-efficient Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset.
Mind you, it's said that the 5 missing features are considered "barely used", so their absence may not impact existing Galaxy S23 users. We don't think that's a good reason to lock out any feature, but what do you think? Would you mind features being locked out of older devices because you won't use them? Share your opinions in the comments below!
COMMENTS