The Galaxy S26 trio is finally here and with it comes One UI 8.5. Samsung may be waiting until the summer to introduce its next big change for its version of Android, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see some new visuals in this mid-cycle release. As we expected, at least one element on the S26’s software is ripped straight from Samsung’s closest rival.
During its hands-on use with the Galaxy S26 Ultra, 9to5GoogleBen Schoon noticed that page indicators on Samsung’s home screen now support a search feature that allows you to quickly retrieve information from data on your device and from the web. This includes calendar appointments, photos, notes, files and more, and is complete with Galaxy AI integration to help find specific details faster. That all sounds well and good, and this use of space for an easily accessible search shortcut compared to Google’s built-in search bar is quite ingenious. Basically, it’s not Samsung’s idea either.
This shortcut is taken directly from iOS, giving users an almost identical search function in exactly the same way. As on One UI 8.5, Apple’s Spotlight implementation supports localizing data from both on-device and web spaces. In fact, the biggest difference between the two is the name. Instead of using the more generic “Search” moniker, Samsung has opted to rival Spotlight with a new identity that’s literally called “Search Engine,” dropping the “S” brand from the search bar altogether.
While I think it’s obviously an excellent upgrade for Samsung users, it’s also one of the most blatant Apple inspirations we’ve seen from the company in a minute, and after last year’s launch of the Galaxy S25 Edge, that’s really saying something. Frankly, the chosen name practically borders on trolling—the Finder has been around since the first Mac shipped over 40 years ago, and borrowing the name from Samsung is particularly apt.
As a fan of the feature on iOS — and as someone who tends to recreate the Pixel’s perma search bar on non-Google devices via repeated search widgets — I’m pretty happy to see improved search coming to Galaxy devices. But even for Samsung, it seems like it’s practically crossing the line, to the point where I’m wondering if there’s a hasty rebrand for this feature in One UI’s future.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 series is now available for pre-order on Samsung.com with up to $900 in trade-in value or $150 in store credit toward another device if you forego the trade-in altogether.
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