Galaxy S23 Users Frustrated as Samsung Ditches Vulkan in One UI 7 Update

Galaxy S23 users are expressing growing frustration over Samsung’s decision to stick with OpenGL for graphics rendering in the One UI 7 update. Across Reddit, forums, and social media, many are voicing their disappointment that Samsung hasn’t transitioned to Vulkan, which is considered the more modern and efficient graphics API.

For those unfamiliar, OpenGL and Vulkan are APIs—essentially languages that software uses to communicate with a device’s graphics hardware. Vulkan is newer and designed to better leverage modern chipsets, enabling smoother performance, more efficient power usage, and improved multitasking. OpenGL, on the other hand, is older and generally less optimized.

What’s frustrating users most is that in the One UI 7 Beta 1, Samsung did enable Vulkan. Those in the beta noticed tangible improvements—animations felt smoother, games ran better, and phones stayed cooler during intensive use. It was a promising sign that the Galaxy S23’s hardware could perform even better. But by Beta 2, Samsung had reverted back to OpenGL, and now the stable version appears to be using it as well.

The shift back to OpenGL feels like a downgrade to many. Users who experienced the Vulkan performance boost during Beta 1 are now puzzled and disappointed. Some even speculate that this move is intentional—perhaps to make newer devices seem more advanced by comparison.

Here are some of the comments circulating online:

• AlRy: “The temperature difference and battery life improvement was evident in Beta 1. Vulkan in One UI Beta 1 was a major upgrade—smoother animations, better gaming, and cooler temps. Reverting to OpenGL feels like a step backward. They should give an explanation.”
• Bpunk: “I was part of the beta. In Beta 1, they were using Vulkan; in Beta 2, they switched to OpenGL. Now the official release uses OpenGL too. It’s nothing but planned obsolescence.”
• OkSuccess9856: “They didn’t bring audio eraser to the S23 but did to the Exynos S24. The battery drain on the S23 is terrible post-update. Samsung’s treatment of older flagships is disappointing. I’ll be looking at other brands.”
• Surya Pavan on Samsung’s community forums: “Vulkan offers significant advantages over OpenGL. It’s disappointing to see Samsung move away from it despite the clear benefits.”

Despite the backlash, Samsung hasn’t offered a detailed explanation. A forum moderator did respond during the beta period, but there’s been no official follow-up on the decision. That leaves users to speculate on their own.

For those who haven’t received the One UI 7 update yet, it’s still rolling out and could continue into May. But for many Galaxy S23 users, the decision to stick with OpenGL has already dampened the excitement.

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