For starters, One UI 7, for all its delays, fell significantly short of the WOW factor and lost some relevant features (e.g., app transparency).
Still, it ruled over the iPadOS in just about every way. Until. iPadOS 26 (Beta 2).
Getting into the iPadOS 26 Beta is seamless and available to everyone. Entering a Samsung One UI Beta is a less than "once in a Blue Moon" thing.
The iPadOS 26 Liquid Glass UI actually copies much of the Samsung One UI goodness but delivers with slightly more consistency and polish.
I hope Samsung welcomes this competition to return to delivering "Spectacular " once again!
The unfortunate edge that iPadOS 26 will have is simply how much better their Apps are compared to Android versions (e.g., all Microsoft apps like Outlook, OneNote, & 365, and JumpDesktop). For some, this new UI putting iPads on the same playing ground as Samsung's Tablet dominance will be the turning-point to switch over -- and that's not Samsung's fault.
------------------------------------------------------------- Please mark any response that helped you as your solution. -------------------------------------------------------------
My intention was to share observations based on my experience using multiple mobile and tablet platforms (such as iPadOS and Windows), often at the beta or pre-beta stage. My reasons for posting are:
1. To encourage Samsung to make their beta programs more accessible and actively respond to long-standing customer feedback.
2. To highlight that Samsung's position as a leading productivity tablet provider is increasingly being challenged, which I hope motivates greater innovation, especially given frustrations with the mediocrity of recent One UI updates.
3. To inspire Samsung users to reach out to app vendors about improving app fidelity, addressing a gap that appears to be widening.
4. To emphasize that if Samsung continues its silence and lack of dialogue with customers, viable alternatives will soon emerge โ and what could be a proactive/pre-emptive securing of customers could quickly turn to a gradual but increasing loss of customers forcing a reactive response.
