Samsung is making subtle but welcome changes to the UI design.

Samsung introduced a significant UI redesign with One UI 7 and opted for minimal changes with One UI 8. However, the company plans to introduce more UI changes with One UI 8.5, including a new UI design language for stock apps and improved icons across the software.

Through leaked One UI 8.5 files, it was recently discovered that Samsung could add a 3D-esque look to app icons. A newer build of One UI 8.5 shows that the company is improving upon that concept, adding a more defined moulding effect around the edges of app icons. Moreover, Samsung seems to be adding a more depth effect to graphics used in the app icons.

The image above shows a comparison between the Gallery and Studio app icons. The Gallery app icon in the middle has two layers of flower petals, while the left-hand Gallery icon has only one. Similarly, the Studio app icon on the right side has a depth effect between its graphics and background.

In the screenshots below, you can see that Samsung has added this 3D effect to all the stock app icons. In an earlier build, the 3D look was only available for some stock app icons, but it now available for all stock apps.

The South Korean firm also seems to have made status bar icons thicker. You can see the difference between One UI 8.0 and One UI 8.5 in the comparison image below. Those icons, like Cellular Network Signal Strength, Sound Mode, and Wi-Fi are now slightly easier to understand.

Samsung is still finalising the design for One UI 8.5, making constant changes with each new internal build. As reported yesterday, the company plans to release the first beta version of the upcoming software towards the end of next month, which could bring even more features and UI design changes.