Samsung’s recently rolled out stable One UI 8.5 update is causing unexpected visual headaches for Galaxy smartphone users. Reports from community forums and social media highlight a widespread glitch heavily impacting Google applications running in dark mode. Users of flagship devices, including the Galaxy S26 Ultra and Galaxy S25 series, complain that apps like Gmail, Google Messages, Google Keep, and Google Fi are displaying inconsistent, washed-out grey tones and uncomfortably high-contrast backgrounds.
Instead of the balanced dark aesthetics seen in previous software versions, the affected Google apps now feature awkward combinations of pitch-black elements mixed with aggressive grey or bluish-grey backgrounds. Users note that menus and search bars look poorly optimized compared to Samsung’s native system UI, making text difficult and uncomfortable to read. Even attempts to resolve the issue using Samsung’s Theme Park customization app have failed, as custom themes and color palettes do not override the glitch.
Tech experts suggest the problem stems from a compatibility conflict between Samsung’s One UI 8.5 software and Google’s Material Expressive design language, which dynamically adjusts app interfaces based on system themes. Samsung’s update appears to be incorrectly overriding these styling values, forcing harsh grey colors onto the applications. Because these system-level values cannot be manually adjusted through standard settings, users remain stuck with the flawed interface.
Samsung has not yet officially acknowledged the glitch or announced a timeline for a corrective patch. In the meantime, affected Galaxy users are being advised to submit bug reports through Samsung’s official feedback channels to expedite an official fix. Until a software patch is released, users will have to tolerate the jarring visual inconsistencies across their daily Google apps.
