Samsung makes phones; Android is the operating system inside them

Samsung is a company that manufactures phones, tablets, and other devices. Android is the software that runs inside those devices. Think of it this way: Samsung is like Ford, and Android is like the engine Ford puts in its cars. Samsung did not create Android—Google did—but Samsung uses Android in most of its phones and tablets.

When you buy a Samsung phone, you are buying both a physical device made by Samsung and a copy of Android (made by Google) that Samsung has customized for that device. Samsung adds its own apps, design touches, and features on top of Android, but the core operating system comes from Google.

This matters because it means Samsung phones can be compared to other Android phones made by different companies—like Google Pixel, OnePlus, or Motorola—because they all run the same underlying software, even though each company modifies it differently.

Key Takeaways

  • Samsung is a manufacturer; Android is an operating system made by Google that runs on Samsung phones and many others.
  • Samsung customizes Android with its own apps and interface, but the core software comes from Google.
  • Other phone makers like Google, OnePlus, and Motorola also use Android, so Samsung phones compete with other Android phones, not against Android itself.
  • Samsung also makes phones that run other operating systems—like older Windows phones—though Android phones are the majority of what Samsung sells now.
  • Updates to Android come from Google, but Samsung decides when and how to deliver them to your specific phone model.

Why Samsung uses Android instead of building its own operating system

Samsung could theoretically build its own phone operating system from scratch, the way Apple builds iOS for iPhones. But that would be enormously expensive and time-consuming, and Samsung would have to convince app developers to write programs for it. Android is already built, already has hundreds of thousands of apps, and Google maintains it constantly.

By using Android, Samsung can focus on what it does well—designing hardware, building screens, and manufacturing phones at scale—while letting Google handle the operating system. Samsung still customizes Android heavily with its own interface (called One UI), its own apps, and its own features, so a Samsung phone feels different from a Google Pixel phone even though both run Android underneath.

What Samsung One UI is and how it differs from plain Android

One UI is Samsung's customized version of Android. When you turn on a Samsung phone, you are not looking at plain Android—you are looking at One UI, which Samsung designed to look and work the way Samsung wants it to.

One UI includes Samsung's own apps (like Samsung Health, Samsung Pay, and Samsung Notes) instead of or alongside Google's versions. It also changes how the home screen looks, how notifications appear, and how settings are organized. A Samsung phone running One UI will look noticeably different from a Google Pixel phone running plain Android, even though both phones are running Android at the core.

Samsung updates One UI separately from Android updates. Google releases a new version of Android once a year, but Samsung decides when to push that update to your phone and what version of One UI to bundle with it. This is why a Samsung phone might receive an Android update weeks or months after Google releases it.

The difference between Android updates and Samsung updates

When you see "Android update" in your Samsung phone's settings, that is Google's update to the operating system itself. When you see a "software update" or "system update," that is usually Samsung's version of that Android update, bundled with One UI changes and Samsung's own patches.

Google controls the Android update schedule—new major versions come out in the fall. Samsung controls when your specific phone model receives that update and what it looks like when it arrives. A Samsung Galaxy S24 might receive Android 15 in December, while a Samsung Galaxy A15 might not receive it until February. Both phones are getting the same Android update, but Samsung is staggering the rollout by device.

Other operating systems Samsung has used

Samsung has not always used Android. In the early 2000s, Samsung made phones that ran Windows Mobile (an operating system made by Microsoft). Samsung also experimented with its own operating system called Bada, which it discontinued in 2013. For a brief period, Samsung and Google worked together on a project called Tizen, which was meant to be an alternative to Android, but it never became a mainstream phone operating system.

Today, Android is Samsung's standard choice for phones and tablets. The only exception is smartwatches: Samsung smartwatches run Wear OS (made by Google) or Samsung's own Tizen operating system, depending on the model.

How to tell what version of Android your Samsung phone is running

Open Settings on your Samsung phone. Scroll down and tap About phone. Look for the line that says Android version—that is the version of Android your phone is running. You will also see a line for One UI version, which is Samsung's customization layer on top of Android.

Both numbers matter. The Android version tells you how current Google's core operating system is. The One UI version tells you how current Samsung's customizations are. A phone might be running Android 14 with One UI 6, for example.

Why this distinction matters when buying or using a Samsung phone

Understanding that Samsung and Android are separate things helps you make sense of phone comparisons and update timelines. When a tech website says "Samsung Galaxy S24 vs. Google Pixel 9," both phones are Android phones, but they run different versions of Android and different customizations on top of it. The differences you see are partly because of hardware (Samsung's screen versus Google's processor) and partly because of software (One UI versus plain Android).

It also explains why your Samsung phone might not receive an Android update as quickly as a Google Pixel phone does. Google makes Android and makes Pixel phones, so Pixel phones get updates first. Samsung has to wait for Google to release Android, then customize it as One UI, then test it on your specific phone model before sending it out. That process takes time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Samsung owned by Google?

No. Samsung is an independent South Korean company. Google is owned by Alphabet, a separate American company. Samsung uses Android because Google makes it and licenses it to phone manufacturers for free, but Samsung is not owned by Google and does not answer to Google.

Can I remove One UI and run plain Android on my Samsung phone?

Not easily. One UI is baked into your Samsung phone's software, and Samsung does not provide a way to remove it through normal settings. Some advanced users install custom versions of Android (called ROMs) on Samsung phones, but this voids your warranty and requires technical knowledge. For most people, One UI is what you get with a Samsung phone.

Do all Android phones get updates at the same time?

No. Google releases Android updates, but each manufacturer (Samsung, OnePlus, Motorola, etc.) decides when to push that update to their phones. Samsung phones often receive updates weeks or months after Google Pixel phones because Samsung has to customize the update first. Budget Samsung models may receive updates even later than flagship models.

If I switch from Samsung to another Android phone, will everything be the same?

The core Android experience will be similar, but the interface will look and work differently. A OnePlus phone or Google Pixel will have a different home screen layout, different default apps, and different settings organization than a Samsung phone. You will still be able to use the same Google apps and the same app store (Google Play), but the overall feel will be noticeably different.

Does Samsung make the Android operating system?

No. Google makes Android. Samsung uses it, customizes it, and distributes it on Samsung phones, but Samsung does not develop Android itself. Google employs the engineers who build and maintain Android, and Google decides what features go into each new version.