Noted leaker Ice Universe has once again criticized Samsung over One UI optimization. In a post on X, he said that even in 2026, with the most powerful mobile processors, the Samsung skin can still lose smoothness when basic visual effects are enabled.
The issue involves the Icon Blur and Wallpaper Blur features in the Home Up module. According to Ice Universe, the problem appears immediately after activating these effects: the interface becomes less smooth and stuttering becomes noticeable. He added that the blur intensity doesn't matter—glitches are visible at both low and high levels.
The post author emphasized that such visual elements have long been a common part of modern interfaces. On iOS and Chinese flagship phone skins, blurring icons or wallpapers does not cause noticeable frame drops, but on One UI, such a basic function can still degrade system responsiveness.
Ice Universe believes Samsung's problem is not weak hardware. Galaxy phones get flagship chips and powerful components, but the software part does not always keep up with hardware development. He considers One UI's main weakness to be low-level optimization, not a lack of new features.
He also noted that he has almost stopped sending improvement suggestions to Samsung because he considers the problem systemic and long-standing. In his view, it is no longer about the design of individual features, but about the company's longstanding inability to bring interface smoothness up to competitor levels.
This criticism is particularly sensitive for Samsung given that One UI has long been positioned as one of the most feature-rich Android skins. However, the Home Up example shows that a wealth of settings and effects does not always work in favor of user experience if even simple visual functions can reduce system smoothness.