Samsung has come a long way, hasn't it? Just looking back over the years, and looking at all (all) of the devices that Samsung has launched since they started creating Android-based devices is practically exhausting. But, to see that evolution is good. It gives hope that we can start seeing it again some day. One day.
The hardware has seen its fair share of evolution, there's no doubt about that. Just look at the original Galaxy S, for example. Not even including the screen size, the Galaxy S looks nothing like the Galaxy S5. Once you get passed that whole, "All our phones look the same because bricks and glass and..." you can really appreciate how far these devices have come.
Of course, you can't really ignore the whole screen size thing, can you? Just go look at a Galaxy S! There are images out there that show the device in-hand, and it looks tiny. It's hard to believe that the consumer market has demanded these gigantic devices, when not too long ago the masses were making fun of them. Then again, there's a lot more interesting stuff to look at with our phones in 2014, and considering we've got devices with 1080p HD displays, it's better to look at it now, too.
Hardware isn't the only part of our phones that have seen evolution.
You can't help but look at the original version(s) of TouchWiz when you look back at older Samsung devices. It's right there on the display, so you're going to look at it no matter what. You can see some similarities, from then and now, but for the most part TouchWiz doesn't really look anything like it used to. For a lot of people, that's a good thing.
Still, there are others out there who don't think the changes that Samsung has included or made in their proprietary software have all been good. Indeed, I've been a loud proponent of the fact that some of the things Samsung does with the custom software aren't amazing. Late last year, before Samsung unveiled the newest version of TouchWiz included with the Galaxy S5, I wrote about how I wanted Samsung to surprise me with their custom experience. I was hoping for the best.
And then we heard that Google and Samsung had worked something out, and it would mean that Samsung would tone TouchWiz way, way down, and drop the majority of their custom services that compete directly with digital outlets that Google offers. Images started to leak out that matched the rumors. Folks started to get excited for the supposed incoming changes.
The real deal landed, and the leaked images/speculation didn't really match up. TouchWiz is still very much alive, and just as in-your-face as always. The developers did manage to tone down the colors, though. And the Settings menu is now a bunch of circles/dots instead of a digital laundry list.
Samsung may not have changed TouchWiz as much as some people were hoping, but if I'm reading the tea leaves, I might be okay with where the software is going. If they continue to tone down in key areas, maybe some day (one day), we'll see a TouchWiz that finds that perfect balance of stock and customization.
But, time to get on your soap box and let us know what you'd change, if you were given the magic wand to make it happen. How would you change Samsung's TouchWiz? Let me know!
