Samsung is pushing out a new software update for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ right now, and it looks like the company has decided to limit the customization options for the navigation bar. Well, at least when it comes to the choice of color for the navigation bar's background, as there is no longer an option to choose a custom color from an RGB scale. In fact, Samsung has switched up the available background colors, and the worst of it is that you can no longer use a fully black navigation bar background.
The new color choices are all light shades, and it's unclear why Samsung suddenly decided the existing options weren't good enough; it could be that Samsung is hoping the new colors will help keep visual uniformity across apps. But it's disappointing to see, especially for someone like me who likes keeping black as the background for the navigation bar. The default white background doesn't go too well with the primarily white background inside most apps, as the navigation bar stands out by not being as white as the rest of the interface.
Here's a comparison of the old and new color options (old on the left, new on the right):
The update does bring a nice little icon to the navigation bar that lets you hide the navigation bar or lock it into place (the latter doesn't work inside full-screen apps like Netflix or YouTube). Hopefully, Samsung will see the folly in limiting the customization options for the navigation bar background and bring them back in a future update. For those wondering, yes, the new update does bring the latest security patch. The update is available in a handful of markets right now and should be expanding to more countries in the coming days.
What's your take on Samsung changing up the available colors for the navigation bar?
