One UI is Samsung’s in-house model of Android, and utilizing it may be a blessing and a curse. In comparison with Pixel UI or the bare-bones Android Open Supply Undertaking builds, releases like One UI 8.5 embrace customized options and additional performance. In addition they include further bloat, and Samsung is thought for loading up One UI builds with pointless or undesirable pre-installed apps. Whereas a few of Samsung’s duplicate apps are literally helpful, many are worse than Google’s personal choices.
Each time I arrange a brand new Galaxy cellphone, there are just a few Samsung apps I instantly exchange and uninstall. It is not about eradicating bloat, however slightly, enhancing productiveness by switching to the Google apps which might be a greater match for my workflow. Should you use the official Samsung apps, you may be hard-pressed to search out correct cross-platform help outdoors the Galaxy ecosystem. Through the use of Google apps, I can guarantee a constant expertise no matter whether or not I am utilizing iOS, Android, macOS, or Home windows.
Samsung Keyboard
I do not know why Samsung’s default keyboard remains to be a lot worse
Pankil Shah / MakeUseOfCredit: Pankil Shah / MakeUseOf
One UI does not at all times make a terrific first impression. While you first arrange a brand new system, you may must spend fairly a little bit of time organising accounts and getting issues organized. That requires numerous typing. By the top of the setup course of, you may most likely be pissed off by Samsung’s default keyboard. The keys really feel small and cramped, and having a persistent quantity row and toolbar additional constrain the format. This association makes you liable to typos, and Samsung’s autocorrect algorithm makes issues even worse.
There isn’t any straightforward method to say this — Samsung Keyboard has the worst autocorrect strategies I’ve ever seen, and it is laughable the scenario is that this unhealthy in 2026. Samsung Keyboard will take accurately spelled phrases and grammatically right sentences and make them nonsensical after automated autocorrect strategies are utilized. Even for those who return and retype what you initially wrote, Samsung Keyboard will repeatedly butcher your phrases until you manually hit a checkmark to disregard the autocorrect suggestion.
It is a irritating expertise that I am going by way of each time I evaluate a brand new Samsung cellphone. Ultimately, the consequence is similar. I swap out Samsung Keyboard for Gboard, the official Google keyboard. It might not be excellent, however the Gboard keys are bigger, so I am much less liable to errors. Google’s autocorrect algorithm is considerably higher, and the keyboard helps key options like glide typing, handwriting, and dictation. Changing Samsung Keyboard with Gboard needs to be the very first thing you do when organising a brand new Galaxy cellphone.
OS
iOS, Android
Worth mannequin
Free
App Kind
Keyboard
Gboard is the official Google keyboard for Android. It presents dependable typing with options like glide typing, handwriting, and dictation. There’s additionally a built-in emoji and GIF search instrument, plus native Google Translate help.
Samsung Calendar
Google Calendar higher integrates with my different apps and units
Credit score: Bertel King / MakeUseOf
A calendar app is essential to maintain observe of occasions, keep on activity, and plan out your life. Should you use a Samsung cellphone, you may see the Samsung Calendar app pre-installed and set because the default calendar app. Some Galaxy telephones may also have Google Calendar able to go, however I needed to manually obtain Google’s model on my Galaxy S26 sequence evaluate items. That is a disgrace, as a result of I discover Google Calendar far more trendy, versatile, and helpful than Samsung Calendar.
That is to not say Samsung Calendar does not have just a few issues going for it. You’ll be able to personalize occasion appearances and alerts utilizing Samsung Calendar, and get automated climate particulars straight out of your calendar occasion. Nevertheless, Google Calendar makes use of the cleaner Materials 3 Expressive design language, and it has stellar integration with Google Workspace. Google Calendar and Google Meet are intertwined, so it is simple to create, handle, and be part of conferences from a calendar occasion.
Better of all, Google Calendar is obtainable on all my units. Whether or not I am utilizing Android and Home windows or iPhone and macOS, Google Calendar is there. That consistency is why I at all times swap out Samsung Calendar for Google Calendar when organising a brand new Galaxy.
OS
iOS, Android
Worth mannequin
Free
App Kind
Calendar
Calendar is the planning and assembly app for Google Workspace and Android. It options integration with Google Meet for scheduling video calls and digital conferences. Moreover, it is a cross-platform calendar consumer obtainable throughout iOS, Android, Put on OS, and the net.
Samsung Gallery
Google Pictures is cleaner, has cloud storage, and consists of modifying instruments
One UI remains to be suffering from duplicate apps, like for the system gallery app. Galaxy telephones include Samsung Gallery and Google Pictures pre-installed, and also you could be questioning which is finest to make use of. It is a trickier query than you may anticipate, as a result of Samsung Gallery contains a handful of built-in Galaxy AI instruments. Audio Eraser removes background noise from movies, whereas Picture Help intelligently makes photograph edits utilizing AI. These are helpful options, however they are not sufficient to make me keep on with Samsung Gallery.
Many Galaxy AI options depend on Google AI fashions or cloud servers for processing, which is why they are not a cause to make use of Samsung Gallery. Should you like Picture Help, you might use the comparable Ask Pictures conversational modifying characteristic in Google Pictures. Google has Magic Eraser, Magic Editor, and Audio Magic Eraser too, so the characteristic set is comparable. Plus, you stand up to 15GB of free cloud storage.
Should you’re like me and already pay for a Google One subscription, that is one more reason to maneuver to Google Pictures. That is one other cross-platform app you may simply use outdoors the Galaxy ecosystem, and I can not say the identical about Samsung Gallery.
OS
iOS, Android
Worth mannequin
Free
App Kind
Gallery and photograph editor
Google Pictures is a gallery app, photograph editor, and cloud storage resolution. It is a straightforward method to again up your photograph or video assortment, make edits utilizing generative AI, or share albums with others. You stand up to 15GB of storage utterly free.
Different Samsung apps to interchange or uninstall
Cleansing up the undesirable Samsung apps preloaded on my smartphone and downloading the Google apps that are not there but are the primary steps I take after organising a brand new Galaxy cellphone. Whereas there is not any direct Samsung equal, I want the Google Authenticator app was pre-installed on Android telephones. It is important for my two-factor authentication workflows, and it might be considerably extra helpful to have Authenticator put in within the place of the ineffective Samsung apps on Galaxy telephones.
Associated
You are most likely ignoring these 6 bloatware apps in your Android cellphone
If in case you have these pre-installed bloatware apps in your cellphone, it is actually time to take away them.
Should you do not consider me, test the Samsung apps folder on a Galaxy cellphone. You may discover apps like World Objectives, Samsung Members, Samsung Information, and Samsung Suggestions — all apps you may probably by no means use. They take up cupboard space and litter your app drawer, and that is why I at all times take away them.
