If you are not tech-savvy, you can easily get confused about different operating systems, manufacturers, device models, and specifications. One such example is that people consider “Samsung” and “Android” to be synonymous, which is not entirely correct. Let’s find out the difference between Samsung and Android phones through the following article!
Samsung phones running Android operating system
Android is a mobile operating system, while Samsung makes phones and tablets that run on Android. Simply put, Android provides the platform for your Samsung phone to run apps and services.
Just like Windows and macOS are desktop operating systems, Android is one of the two main operating systems for mobile devices. The other is Apple's iOS, which runs on the iPhone.
However, other smartphone operating systems still exist. Some are no longer available and are no longer being developed, including Windows Mobile, BlackBerry OS, and Tizen.
Note that Android is not a company and does not make smartphones, just like Windows is not a company and Microsoft is.
Manufacturers often bundle Google Mobile Services (GMS) with Android, providing Google-licensed interfaces and apps like Google Search and Google Chrome. However, Android and GMS are not inherently linked; phones can run Android but still use proprietary apps and interfaces.
Google owns and develops Android, but the operating system itself is open source and free for other developers to use and customize.
How are Samsung phones different from other Android devices?
Now that we’ve established that Android is an operating system, how does Samsung customize it? Samsung is a global electronics company that manufactures devices like displays, smart home appliances, and TVs. It also manufactures and sells smartphones, tablets, and other consumer electronics.
Samsung sells its smartphones under the “Galaxy” brand, which is divided into product lines like the Galaxy Z (foldable devices) and the Galaxy S (high-end, high-performance devices). Although Samsung has experimented with other mobile operating systems, all Samsung Galaxy smartphones currently run the Android operating system.
One thing that sets Samsung phones apart from other Android phones is One UI (formerly known as Samsung Experience and TouchWiz). One UI is a custom “skin” or software layer that Samsung adds on top of Android to make its Galaxy devices stand out from the crowd.
One UI is considered one of the best Android skins because it has many features, customization options, and Samsung apps and services that Android doesn't offer. Some of these features include Edge Panels, Modes and Routines, Secure Folder, and the Bixby voice assistant. In fact, many of Samsung's software innovations have been baked into the core Android experience.
Are all Android phones the same?
No, all Android phones are not the same. Samsung is just one of many companies that use Android for their devices. Other major smartphone manufacturers include Google, Sony, Motorola, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo.
Just like Samsung, all of these major smartphone manufacturers add their own custom skins on top of Android. This helps them differentiate their devices, stand out from the competition, and offer something unique to their customers.
Some Android skins are primarily about aesthetics, while others focus on providing more functionality. You can learn all about Android skins and why companies prefer them over Stock Android .
The core, unmodified Android experience developed by Google is called “Stock Android.” It used to be rare to find a phone that offered the Stock Android experience. These days, it’s a bit more common, especially with Google’s Pixel phones competing with Samsung’s offerings.
Do Samsung phones evolve with Android?
Android is an ever-evolving operating system. Google releases a new major version every year. For a long time, Android named its versions after desserts (Nougat, Oreo, Pie), but now it's naming them numerically, like Android 13 and Android 14 .
As Android evolves, so does Samsung’s One UI. Samsung generally releases a new major version of One UI for every major Android update, but the company also releases minor updates during that cycle. For example, the One UI 6 update has many features built on Android 14, but the newer One UI 6.1 update unlocks Galaxy AI features on older Samsung phones.
Your Samsung phone won’t get Android or One UI updates indefinitely. Samsung typically supports its new devices with these major updates for four years after they’re released. After that, your phone will only get important security updates, though those updates will eventually stop.
It's worth noting that Samsung is improving on the software support front, promising seven years of Android updates and major security updates for the entire Galaxy S24 lineup.
However, since Samsung phones use a custom interface, they won't get updates as quickly as Google Pixel phones running stock Android. Also, how quickly you get the One UI update depends on your location and phone carrier.
Does Samsung make the best Android phone?
Now that you know the difference between Samsung and Android, should you buy a Samsung phone that uses Android? That comes down to personal preference, although there are good reasons why Samsung sells the majority of Android phones. According to Statcounter, Samsung holds 23.69% of the global smartphone market share at the time of writing, second only to Apple.
There are plenty of Samsung phones to suit every budget; if you can afford it, try to opt for the Galaxy S series which benefits from the best hardware, although the Galaxy A series is more affordable without sacrificing too many features.
However, if you're not a big fan of Samsung's custom One UI interface, consider checking out other manufacturers. The Google Pixel phones, with their stock Android experience, might be for you. Alternatively, you could ditch Android altogether and go with an iPhone — Apple develops both hardware and software with all the quality you'd expect from the company.
The Galaxy S series was launched in 2010, with the first phone in the series selling over 20 million units. Although Samsung stumbled along the way, the company has since picked itself back up and is never afraid to innovate. Whether you want a flat screen, a curved screen, or a foldable phone, Samsung has something for you.
Samsung launched the Galaxy S25 Ultra with Corning Gorilla Armor 2 glass, which is said to be more resistant to drops than the Armor glass on the S24 Ultra. But that's not all: replacement parts for repairing the screen are also significantly cheaper than previous generations.
Some people decide to go with the default Internet browser that Samsung provides on Galaxy devices. It's simple, customizable, private, and packed with useful features.
There are many Android manufacturers, but not all of them pay attention to software updates. Although the situation has improved over the past decade, not all smartphone manufacturers provide great software support.
Samsung Electronics is reportedly collaborating with OpenAI on an ambitious joint project to develop AI TVs that incorporate industry-leading artificial intelligence technologies.
The quality of video captured through smartphone cameras in general has improved dramatically over the past few years.
You want to buy Samsung Galaxy S25 but your budget is not too much. Or you simply want to try out the experience of Samsung's flagship smartphone.
Samsung is one of the smartphone manufacturers that offers the longest software support period for its devices, especially its flagships.
The Galaxy Tab S10 is sure to be one of the top products on the market when it launches.
The latest One UI 3.0 (based on Android 11) is now available on flagship Galaxy S and Note devices, packing a host of new features and improvements.
Samsung Electronics has announced plans to integrate Eclipsa Audio, a brand new 3D audio technology, developed through a partnership with Google, into its 2025 lineup of TVs and soundbars.
While the buzz around Vision AI is undeniable, many are still not convinced it's time to upgrade.
Samsung is considered a pioneer in popularizing folding screen technology on smartphones with two smartphone lines, the Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip.
There are rumors that the Korean tech giant is likely to launch a budget version of the Galaxy Z Flip7, called the Galaxy Z Flip7 FE.
Samsung phones, especially budget and mid-range ones, are notorious for shutter lag. Slow shutter speeds can cause blurry images and make it harder to capture moving objects.
Many different issues can cause your iPhone to become unresponsive or even not turn on. The good news is that you can fix most of these problems without having to take your phone to a repair center.
After testing all the photo filters on your iPhone, you will eventually come up with your favorites. These are the best filters to use on your photos.
To limit unwanted application downloads on Android, you should set a password to download applications on Android.
TWRP allows users to save, install, backup and restore firmware on their devices without worrying about affecting the state of the device when rooting, flashing or installing new firmware on Android devices.
On Android phones, there is an option to adjust the screen lock mode when the user is inactive. So how to keep the screen always on?
In Apple's new product launch events, including iPhone, iOS, macOS... the time stamp is always 9:41.
On the Google Play Store, there are many alternative applications to the default Android gallery. They provide more interesting features than the default gallery such as connecting to Dropbox or Google Photos accounts, etc. Depending on your needs and desires, you can choose the following applications.
iOS 18 added a new feature that simplifies this process and lets you access recent notes with just a few taps.
The Google voice assistant feature on the phone helps users a lot in their daily life and work. However, this can affect the privacy of users.
Instead of manually calculating the time difference between cities, you can use your iPhone to view multiple time zones.
Clean Up is a tool in the Photos app in iOS 18 that lets you remove unwanted objects from photos. However, it sometimes has the strange behavior of blurring faces instead of removing them.
The new iPhone update adds a widget that displays nighttime health information in the Health app. When you add the widget to your iPhone home screen, all health indicators are recorded when you use Apple Watch.
Do you often feel annoyed when every time you turn on 3G on your Android Smartphone, applications compete to notify Update while the budget for mobile data network is limited?
As soon as the Passwords app detects an account with a weak, vulnerable, or leaked password, it will notify you of the status of that password.
Are you having a flickering issue with your iPhone camera? There are many factors that can cause this issue, so don't assume it's a hardware issue and take it to the Apple Store right away.
