4 Reasons Not to Install the Galaxy Android 14 Update & 11 Reasons To

Samsung’s pushing its Android 14 One UI 6 update to Galaxy devices. And while there are some great reasons to install the software on day one, there are also some reasons why you might want to hang back and wait.

Unsurprisingly, the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, and Galaxy S23 Ultra were first in line to Android 14/One UI 6, but the software is now rolling out to the Galaxy S22 series, Galaxy Tab S9 series, and an assortment of other Galaxy phones and tablets.

If you took part in the Galaxy Android 14 beta process, or you’ve simply been following along, you know that Samsung’s version of Android 14 is chock full of changes. If you haven’t, there’s your public service announcement.

The company’s version of Android 14 delivers One UI 6, a new version of its skin that comes with design tweaks and other enhancements. It’s substantial.

It’s an exciting update, but Galaxy users should exercise caution. While many users will probably see enhanced performance, many others will run into problems.

With all of that in mind, we want to take you through the best reasons to install Samsung’s Android 14 update today and the best reasons to stay on Android 13 for a bit longer.

Install Android 14 for Improved Security

If security is important to you, and it should be, you should think about installing Android 14 soon after the prompt appears for your phone or tablet.

Samsung continues to push important security patches to Galaxy devices and your Android 14 update will bring the latest patches to your phone.

Upcoming versions of Android 14 will come with newer security patches. Remember, Samsung releases critical patches every single month.

If you’re curious about Samsung’s security updates, you can read more about their contents on Samsung’s website.

Android 14 itself also brings security improvements to Galaxy devices. The software brings an extra level of protection for your apps and data.

The software’s Auto Blocker feature prevents unknown apps from being installed, checks for malware, and blocks malicious commands from being sent to your phone using a USB cable.

Install If You’ve Got Problems

If you’re dealing with problems on Android 13, and you can’t seem to find a fix, you might want to install Android 14 right away. It could improve your phone’s performance.

Android 14 update isn’t perfect. There are bugs and performance issues Samsung will need to address in the future. That said, it could have a positive impact on your device. Some users are noticing improved battery life and a smoother user interface.

Android updates, particularly major releases like Android 14, have been known to iron out common performance issues like random reboots and issues with connectivity (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular data, GPS).

If your Samsung Galaxy device is tied to a specific carrier, there’s a chance your carrier will tack on additional bug fixes to your upgrade as well.

Install for Camera Improvements

Android 14 and One UI deliver numerous improvements to the camera experience. Most of them are fantastic and those of you who shoot a lot of photos and videos should come away from the upgrade satisfied.

There are a ridiculous number of camera upgrades on board so we’re not going to list every single one here, but some of the standouts include:

• Enhance X
• AI Image Clipping
• Document Scan
• High Resolution Button in Quick Settings
• Custom Camera widgets
• Better alignment options for watermarks
• A new level line to keep your photo level

Install for Improved Weather App & Widget

Samsung’s made some pretty big changes to the Weather app and the Weather Widget. Samsung’s always had pretty useful Weather tools and they’ve only gotten better in One UI 6/Android 14.

There’s a new Weather widget which will provides you with more information about your local weather conditions.

There are also enhanced illustrations in the Weather widget, and app, which will give you better info about the current weather conditions. The background colors will also change depending on the time of the day.

As for the Weather app, there’s now information about snowfall, moon phases and times, atmospheric pressure, visibility distance, dew point, and wind direction. It’s a really nice touch.

Install for Upgraded Quick Settings

Samsung’s Quick settings received a ton of love in One UI 6/Android 14 and the final result is a more modern looking layout with better functionality.

Here are the highlights:

• New button layout: The quick panel has a new layout that makes it easier to access the features you use most. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth now have their own dedicated buttons at the top of the screen, while visual features, like Dark mode and Eye comfort shield, have been moved to the bottom. Other quick settings buttons appear in a customizable area in the middle.
• Instantly access the full quick panel: By default, a compact quick panel with notifications appears when you swipe down from the top of the screen. Swiping down again hides notifications and shows the expanded quick panel. If you turn on Quick Settings instant access, you can view the expanded quick panel by swiping just once from the right side of the top of the screen. Swiping down from the left side shows notifications.
• Quickly access brightness control: The brightness control bar now appears by default in the compact quick panel when you swipe down once from the top of the screen for quicker and easier brightness adjustments.
• Improved album art display: While playing music or videos, album art will cover the entire media controller in the notification panel if the app playing the music or video provides album art.
• Enhanced layout for notifications: Each notification now appears as a separate card, making it easier to recognize individual notifications.
• Sort notifications by time: While playing music or videos, album art will cover the entire media controller in the notification panel if the app playing the music or video provides album art.

Quick settings on Android 13/One UI 5 wasn’t a horrible experience, but a face lift was needed. It might take a little bit to get used to, but we think the changes will grow on Galaxy users.

Install for New Emoji Design

After years of using the same emoji designs, Samsung’s overhauled the design in Android 14/One UI 6. Nearly all of them have changed.

There’s been a lot of back and forth about the change, but the general sentiment is that the new look is better than the old one. We concur.

Install for Better Multitasking

One UI 6 delivers some improvements to multitasking and they will come in handy if you often find yourself using a bunch of of apps and services at the same time.

With Android 14/One UI 6 on board, you can now keep pop-up windows open. So instead of how it worked on One UI 5, where pop-up windows would get minimized when you’d go to the Recents screen,  these pop-ups will now remain open after you leave Recents so you can continue working.

On One UI 5, if you wanted to drag something from one app to another, you’d need to have both apps open at the same time. One UI 6 changes this.

You can now open up an app and select what you want to bring over to the other app by pressing and holding the selected files while using your other hand to open the other app and drop in the selected files.

Install for Improved Photo Editor

If you’re an avid user of the Photo Editor on your Galaxy device, there’s incentive to download Android 14 and One UI 6. There are five big upgrades on board. They include:

• Adjust decorations after saving: You can now make changes to drawings, stickers, and text that you’ve added to a photo even after saving.
• Undo and redo: Don’t worry about making mistakes. You can now easily undo or redo transformations,
  filters, and tones.
• Enhanced layout: The new Tools menu makes it easier to find the editing features you need. Straighten and Perspective options have been combined in the Transform menu.
• Draw on custom stickers: When creating custom stickers, you can now use drawing tools to make your stickers even more personal and unique.
• New text backgrounds and styles: When adding text to a photo, you can choose from several new backgrounds and styles to help you get the perfect look.

If you like to touch up photos for social media or before sending them off to friends in a message, you should find something you like here.

Install for Smarter Airplane Mode

Android 14 and One UI 6 deliver a smarter Airplane Mode for your Galaxy device. This will be useful if you often use your device while flying.

With Android 14 on board your device, if you turn on Wi-Fi or Bluetooth while Airplane mode is on, your phone will remember this. So the next time you use Airplane mode, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth will remain on instead of turning off.

Install for Home Screen Enhancements

On the home screen, app icon labels are now limited to a single line. “Galaxy” and “Samsung” have been removed from some apps to make them shorter. It’s a small change, but it makes the operating system a little easier on the eyes.

Install for a Better Lock Screen

One UI 6 users now have the ability to move the clock to a position of their choice on the Lock screen. If you like to customize the look and feel of your software, that’s a big change.

On top of that, you can now set up different Lock screens with their own wallpaper and clock style for when you’re driving, working, and exercising.

The company’s also added a widget for the SmartThings app which means you can control your connected devices directly from the lock screen of your device

Don’t Install If You’re Unprepared

It’s difficult to predict how Android 14 will impact your device’s performance. Again, some users might see a performance boost, but many others will run into bugs and problems.

This is precisely why you’ll want to prepare yourself, and your device, for the move. A little prep work could help you avoid major headaches.

We’ve put together a step-by-step guide that will walk you through the process we typically use before we install new Android software on our Galaxy devices.

If you use your Galaxy device for work, we recommend checking in with your IT department (if you have one) before you tap install because it could have an impact on the apps and core services you rely on to do your job.

If you don’t have a lot of time to commit to the pre-installation process you should, at the very least, make sure all of the important data is backed up.

Don’t Install If You’re Worried About Issues

If you’re having an excellent experience on Android 13 and Android 14’s changes don’t excite you, it might be worth it to hang around on Android 13 for a little while longer.

As we push away from Android 14’s release we’re hearing about a variety of bugs and performance issues. Some of these issues are minor bugs, others are far more problematic.

This is par for the course after a major Android release and we expect the list of complaints to grow as more Galaxy users upgrade to Android 14.

If you’re feeling leery about upgrading, wait for more short-term and long-term feedback about the update’s performance on your particular device.

If you’re seeing a lot of negative feedback, it might be a good idea to hang back and wait for Samsung and/or your carrier to deliver bug fixes.

Don’t Install While Traveling

If you are preparing to go on a trip, or if you’re in the middle of a trip, and you need to rely on your phone or tablet, you might want to hold off on an installation.

There’s a chance Android 14 plays nicely with your device, but it will take awhile to install the update and there is always a chance something could go wrong.

You might not want to deal with a) waiting for the update to install, 2) finding a help for an issue, and/or 3) dealing with apps or services that aren’t working.

This is probably the last thing you want to be dealing with on a family outing or an important business trip. If you’re going to be away from home and away from your backups, we recommend holding off on an upgrade.

Be Careful If You Own an Older Device

Android 14 will roll out to older Galaxy models and mid-range devices. If you’re at the edge of  compatibility, meaning Android 14 will probably be your last major upgrade, you may want to hold off on installing the update. Let other users try out the software to see how it performs.

This will let you decide if the software’s performance is good or if there are issues that will prevent you from reliably using your phone or tablet.

Check sites to find feedback from users with the same phone or tablet and see how Android 14 performs (versus Android 13) before you make a move.