Apple's iOS 26 vs Google's Android 16 vs Samsung's One UI 7: Mega visual comparison
Comparing the Big Three: a coat of paint or real progress?
With Android 16 officially out, iOS 26 announced and already available as a developer beta, and One UI 7 taking its time but finally reaching the majority of Samsung devices this spring, the Samsung, Apple, and Google trio have more or less showcased what we can expect of their respective operating systems this year.
Technically, Samsung should be releasing One UI 8 very soon, but given that we don't expect any major visual and functional changes in comparison with One UI 7, it's safe to assume that the next update won't revolutionize the experience.
So, how do the three big operating systems stack up in terms of visual styling and features?
With iOS 26, we get Apple's Liquid Glass redesign, which overhauls many aspects of the interface with a glass-like appearance. That's a look consistent between iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS.
With iOS 26, we get Apple's Liquid Glass redesign, which overhauls many aspects of the interface with a glass-like appearance. That's a look consistent between iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS.
Google, on the other hand, showcased its new Material 3 Expressive design language at the Google I/O event. However, while Android 16 got released a few days ago, its new style will only arrive along with the QPR1 release later this year, possibly on September 3, 2025. Still, many aspects of Material 3 Expressive are already available in the Android 16 beta, so we can sort of gauge how the upcoming software will stack up against its adversaries.
Finally, Samsung's One UI interface builds upon the design tenets of the company's previous interfaces and is its most expressive and colorful one. It's currently the one that's unlikely to score any major changes, and despite some backward decisions, it's arguably a good update for Samsung users.
Have in mind that all iOS 26 and Android 16 images are taken from the respective betas of both operating systems, so everything you see here could be subject to change.
Lock Screen & Customization
The iOS 26 lock screen is characterized with a large clock face, which was technically part of previous Android updates, so nothing new here. The Liquid Glass and the parallax lock screen wallpaper effect are new, however. One UI 7 and Android 16 also boast a ton of personalization options, including different clock faces, styles, and colors.
Home Screen & Apps
Apple has introduced a new "Clean" appearance for iOS 26's stock icons, which makes them look like they're made of glass. Could be helpful to reach a distraction-free, minimilastic look for your home screen! At the same time, both One UI 7 and Android 16 feature icon tinting, but you could technically achieve the same clean look with a custom Android launcher and one of the thousands icon packs available in the Play Store. Still not a native solution though!
Control Center/Quick Toggles
One of the more striking displays of the Liquid Glass style. We suppose Apple will be fine-tuning the appearance of the toggles here, as the legibility isn't great at all. Android 16 and One UI 7 suffer from no such quirks: the quick toggles inherit the system color palette that you select, and usually look great.
Settings
Some small changes in iOS 26, with the density being decreased and the order of menu items changed a bit. The search bar has also been moved to the bottom. The Android and One UI 7 versions are mostly similar to one another and to their predecessors as well.
Gallery
Apple backtracked on its majorly redesigned Photos app in iOS 18 and delivered a more familiar layout with iOS 26. You get quick shortcuts to both all your photos and your Collections (a.k.a. folders), and that's honestly a great change. Samsung's Gallery app looks super smart itself, while Android 16's stock Google Photos app should be familiar to most users.
Camera
iOS 26 features a redesigned camera app, which is quite different from what most iOS users have grown accustomed to. If anything, it now looks closer to One UI and Android 16's layouts.
AI and smart assistant
Siri hasn't been touched in iOS 26: it has looked different since iOS 18 and can still tap into ChatGPT, but underneath it all is the same mostly incompetent smart assistant that's usually only good for setting alarms and timers. Gemini, which is available on both Android 16 and One UI 7, is a much more capable AI chatbot/smart assistant, capable of LLM-powered reasoning as well as deep integration with the Android subsystem.
Browser
Safari scored new looks and is now arguably super-clean, with a very minimalistic look. However, many essential features are tucked away inside menus, so it's not the most intuitive layout here. Samsung Internet and Google Chrome, which are the default browsers on One UI 7 and Android 16 look closer to standard browsers, but also fail to excite in terms of appearance.
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