The "revamped TouchWiz” we all forgot was a real, beautiful concept

Back in January 2014, when pro leaker Evan Blass was still active under the @evleaks handle, he released a handful of screenshots (see above) allegedly showing a new UI that Samsung was “exploring.” Featuring an airy, translucent aesthetic and modern typography, the UI was a major departure from everything that Samsung had done before in mobile software.

The leak was forgotten after the Galaxy S5 launched in late February 2014 with TouchWiz intact, and with the Galaxy S6 continuing on the same well-trodden path, it remained a pipe dream.

However, it turns out that Samsung at least toyed with this UI at some point. We know that thanks to this page put up by animator Gerald Mark Soto, called “Samsung – UI / UX – Perception,” which shows two brief videos of the UI in action.

The videos show luscious transitions and rich animations, in what appears to be a design exploration, rather than an actual functional interface. Soto handled animation, but the concept itself is the creation of Perception, a design studio specializing in creating “futuristic UI and HUD design for both feature films and global technology brands.”

Perception is responsible for designing numerous “futuristic interface elements” from movies like Iron Man 2, The Avengers, Robocop, Thor: The Dark World, Agent Carter, and more.

In the technology brands section, Samsung is listed as a key client, along with Ford, Space X, Intel, and others. The description of Perception’s collaboration with Samsung suggests that at least some of Perception’s designs are being incorporated in current or future products:

“Perception’s relationship with Samsung has brought new levels of delight to products hitting store shelves as well as technologies that are generations down the road.”

Will this futuristic UI, or at least elements of it, ever make it to a real product? It’s difficult to say, though we wouldn’t hold our breath. But at least we know that the leak from January 2014 is real, and that there’s tiny chance it will someday influence a real product.

What do you think of this UI? Too much animation or not?