Misc. Features Going
Samsung Electronics is expected to make an extensive change of TouchWiz, its user interface (UI), starting with its next flagship smartphone the Galaxy S6. The company is planning to reduce the capacity of system memory and greatly improve its function by strengthening core features and eliminating unnecessary ones.
According to industry sources on Jan. 12, Samsung's information technology & mobile communications division is working to optimize TouchWiz so that the UI can be used in the Galaxy S6. The new model is scheduled to be unveiled at MWC 2015 to be held in Barcelona, Spain in March.
An industry source remarked, “We are aiming to get rid of unnecessary functions and simplify our UI at the level of Google's Nexus 6.” The Nexus series are smartphones that represent Google's Android operating system (OS). Since they utilize a basic UI provided by Android OS without a separate UI, they do not need a large amount of extra software storage other than mobile OS. The Nexus 6 was first introduced to the U.S. in November of last year.
TouchWiz has been used as a differentiation factor, starting with the Galaxy S3. The model added new functions that recognize vital signs such as facial movements, voice, and hand gestures with the concept of human-focused UI. Since then, Samsung has revealed an upgraded TouchWiz with new functions whenever launching smartphones.
However, various functions featured in the form of software occupy a large proportion of the system capacity of smartphones. Therefore, consumers have complained about a delay in responsiveness. In a survey about the shortcomings of Galaxy phones conducted by US-based IT news site Phone Arena in November 2014, 43.32 percent of respondents said that TouchWiz is heavily featured.