Samsung’s cheapest Galaxy phones now come with stripped down TouchWiz Essence UI

By Andy Boxall July 1, 2014

Samsung has launched four new Galaxy smartphones, all of which will bolster the company’s entry-level ranks, rather than challenge the Galaxy S5 for supremacy. Android 4.4 KitKat is installed on all four, which is great news, but rather than slap the full TouchWiz user interface over the top, Samsung has used a stripped down, simplified version it calls TouchWiz Essence instead.

On Samsung’s high-end hardware TouchWiz must deal with everything from heart rate monitors to running multiple apps at the same time, features which aren’t offered on basic Galaxy devices. TouchWiz Essence is described as being easy to use, while still offering relevant tools like an enhanced camera interface.

Galaxy Ace 4 — Samsung Galaxy Ace 4 Image used with permission by copyright holder

Initially introduced on the little-seen Galaxy Ace Style in April, Samsung has confirmed TouchWiz Essence will be installed on the new Galaxy Core 2, Galaxy Ace 4, Galaxy Young 2, and the Galaxy Star 2.

The Galaxy Core 2 (pictured above) is the most highly specced model, coming with a 4.5-inch, 480 x 800 pixel screen, a quad-core 1.2GHz processor, and a 5-megapixel camera. Samsung has had a go at classing it up with a leather-look rear panel too. The Galaxy Ace 4 comes with either 3G or 4G connectivity, which should make it as popular as its predecessors, plus a 4-inch, 480 x 800 pixel screen, a dual-core processor, and a 5-megapixel camera.

Finally, the Galaxy Young 2 and the Galaxy Star 2 are quite similar, both boasting 3.5-inch, 320 x 480 pixel screens, and single core processors. The Young 2 has a 3-megapixel camera, while the Star 2 has just 2-megapixels. Regardless of which new Galaxy phone you choose, they all have 4GB of internal memory, plus a MicroSD card slot.

Samsung is keeping quiet on where it’ll launch the four phones, when, and how much they’ll cost.

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