Samsung is clearing space on Galaxy phones. The company plans to discontinue Samsung News later in 2026 in certain regions, while One UI 9.5 is preparing a Galaxy AI-powered Memory app that points toward a very different future for Samsung’s software.
Galaxy owners in South Korea and India have received notices saying Samsung News will end. The Samsung News widgets and Media Page on the home screen will also stop working on December 21, 2026, and Samsung has not confirmed whether American Galaxy users face the same change.
SamMobile describes the service’s shutdown in other markets as “highly likely.” Samsung has not answered the question of whether the change will reach the US, so users elsewhere are left with the usual product-support ritual: wait, guess, and keep the widgets installed until they fail.
Samsung News has run out of runway
The decision arrives only a few months after Samsung added short-form videos from premium publishers such as ABC News and USA Today. That update did not save a platform with a long history of identity changes.
Samsung News debuted as Bixby Home in 2017, became Samsung Daily in 2019, returned as Samsung Free a year later, and launched under the Samsung News name in 2023. The latest versions of One UI already enable Google Discover by default, giving Samsung less reason to keep funding its own news aggregator.
Samsung has made the same trade before. In 2021, it made Google Messages the default texting app instead of Samsung Messages, then discontinued Samsung Messages in the US in April 2026 and directed users to Google Messages.
Users who want to switch from Samsung News can press and hold an empty area on the home screen, swipe left, and choose Google Discover. They can also tap the settings icon at the top of the panel, turn off the Media Page toggle, and remove the panel entirely.
Samsung says News preferences will not carry over to another aggregator, including Google Discover. Anyone following specific publications will need to follow each one again, and Samsung News widgets should be removed because they will stop working. The upside is modest but real: one fewer app bloating a Galaxy phone.
One UI is replacing clutter with AI memory
Samsung is also preparing Memory, a Galaxy AI-powered app expected to arrive with One UI 9.5. It is designed as a searchable personal archive that gathers screenshots, voice notes, links, and text in one place, much like Google Pixel Screenshots.
Memory is said to generate titles, summaries, and tags, then organize related items into collections with added context. It can detect a webpage inside a screenshot and retrieve its link, while users should be able to reorganize, delete, retitle, favorite, and import content through the share sheet.
Users will also be able to paste links and text into Memory and record voice notes there. Screenshots indicate that Samsung may offer on-device AI processing, along with a way to disable Memory; whether the app is opt-in or opt-out remains unclear.
A One UI 9.5 beta is expected soon, with the full version expected to launch alongside the Galaxy S27 lineup in early 2027. A beta build for the Galaxy S26 Ultra has appeared on Samsung’s Korean and US update servers under firmware version S948BXXU6ZZK3, although Samsung has not announced the beta or a launch date.
The beta may cover Germany, India, Poland, South Korea, the UK, and the US, provided users own an eligible phone. Samsung’s previous One UI 8.5 beta opened on December 8, 2025, while the One UI 9.5 beta is expected to follow the same Samsung Members registration process.
One UI 9 keeps changing the basics
Samsung has also stopped showing the “all apps” button on the home screen by default in recent One UI updates. The option remains available: long-press or pinch the home screen, tap the gear icon, then enable “Show Apps screen button on Home screen.”
The button will return to the right side of the favorite apps dock, although it consumes space that could hold another favorite app. Users can also switch between Samsung’s three-button navigation and gesture navigation in Settings; stock Android introduced gesture navigation with Android 9.0 Pie in 2018.
One UI 9, based on Android 17, began reaching the Galaxy S23, S23+, and S23 Ultra in South Korea on October 14, 2026, and arrived in Europe a few days later. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5 received it in the US on October 23.
For the Galaxy S23 series, Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5, and 2023’s A-series phones, One UI 9 is the final major Android upgrade, with security patches running into 2028. The October 2026 security update fixed 79 vulnerabilities, and Samsung’s 2022 policy promised five years of security updates from launch.
The S23 update still brings a more customizable Quick Panel, improvements to Samsung DeX and Samsung Notes, new accessibility features, and a location privacy indicator. Several One UI 9 AI tools skip the S23 series and S23 FE, including My FanCam, Now Nudge, custom Now Brief cards, and Call Brief.
None of these older phones will suddenly stop working, but their software ceiling is now clear. Samsung’s newer policy promises seven generations of OS upgrades and seven years of security updates for devices such as the Galaxy S24 and later, while the Galaxy S26 is scheduled for support until 2033.
Based on
- Samsung may be getting rid of another One UI feature — engadget.com
- Samsung Is Taking A Page Out Of Pixel’s Playbook With One UI 9.5 — engadget.com
- Samsung One UI Removed The All Apps Button, But You Can Easily Get It Back — engadget.com
- One UI 9 Is The Final Major Update For These Older Samsung Galaxy Phones — engadget.com
- Samsung One UI 9.5 Beta May Be Coming Soon: Here’s How To Sign Up For The Program — engadget.com
