Years ago, when I was switching between one Android handset to another on a regular basis, one of the things I loved to do was root the phone and install custom user interfaces. There were some ridiculously good options out there back then (I'm sure there are still many to this day), and the only limitation was availability. While the creators of the skins and features tried to get their creations on as many devices as possible, that wasn't always the case. Some companies, like HTC, had devices that were a lot friendlier with the idea of custom software.

Or at least didn't have as many roadblocks in the way to prevent the user-created software from being installed on their devices.

But while that was the case, I can remember that, at least most of the time, I was pretty happy with HTC's custom software. Back when it was called Sense UI, at least. Sure, it was pretty rough to start, and some years and iterations were better than others, but in the end I liked Sense UI more than, say, Samsung's offerings back then.

I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that Samsung wasn't making the best custom software back then. It was panned regularly, and it was one of the reasons a lot of people were championing the stock Android experience. Though, to be fair, many people weren't happy with a lot of custom software options out there from Android smartphone manufacturers, so it's certainly not all on Samsung's shoulders.

And the good news is that it appears Samsung has turned things around. Now, I'll say right here that I've only used the company's new "One UI" a few times and only in passing, so I have absolutely no idea if it's actually any good on a personal level. But when I read reviews of Samsung's latest smartphones, including the Galaxy S20 series, I'm not seeing it dragged through the mud for terrible software design.

Sure, there are still gimmicks and bloat, but that's probably not a dealbreaker for many people these days.

If you've used Samsung's custom software over the years, do you think the new-ish One UI is the sweet spot? Has Samsung ironed out the issues and created software that can rival Google's stock experience? Or are there still some major changes the company needs to make? Overall, are you a fan of One UI? Let me know!