C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Samsung is reportedly working on family group functionality in One UI 8.5.
- This mirrors Google’s family group suite, but will only apply to Samsung accounts and services.
- A Samsung family group could let you approve Galaxy Store purchases, share fitness data and payment info, and more.
Google has offered Family Group functionality for years now, allowing you to share payment info, calendars, notes, cloud storage, and more with your household. However, it looks like Samsung is working on its own Family Group feature in One UI 8.5.
SammyGuru reports that One UI 8.5 will let you create a family group using your Samsung account. Once you’ve created a group, you can invite others to join it. Check out the outlet’s screenshots below.
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The screenshots also suggest that you can share a common payment method, track loved ones, share health data, and share photo albums with group members. The third screenshot also shows that you can approve content, with SammyGuru specifically saying you can approve Galaxy Store purchases via this screen.
In any event, this could be handy if your household and immediate loved ones only have Samsung devices. The ability to share fitness data might be particularly welcome if several group members have a Galaxy wearable. However, a Samsung-specific family group would make it harder for people to leave the Samsung ecosystem and use devices from another Android brand.
Furthermore, I do question the practicality of this when Google already offers family group functionality across Android devices and Google services in general. Google’s solution also offers password sharing and integration with Google One and YouTube Premium family plans.
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