One of the advantages of the Android operating system is the possibility of fully customizing our devices. Smartphone manufacturers often customize how the OS looks and they can even add a few extra features to improve its functionality according to them. By rooting their devices, users can install one of the many custom ROMs available, which provides a new look for the UI and they can change several elements of the OS to change almost entirely how the system works. For less experienced users, they can install a bunch of launchers available through the Play Store, which provide a certain level of customization.
More recently, companies like Sony, HTC and Samsung have included Themes in their devices, which may change the whole iconography, the way the soft keys look, or just the color palette for some elements. Samsung offers support for third-party themes in a selection of their devices, including a number of paid options, but only users from select markets including South Korea and India can benefit from this feature. According to a popular theme developer named Samer Zayer, users from nine additional countries will soon get the option to buy the themes they would like for their devices. Through his Google+ account, he mentioned that starting tomorrow, users from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Australia, Thailand and Hong Kong will see the feature going live.
An update to the Theme Store suggests that this is how users will get the new paid themes. The build number of the updated version is 1.01.38 and it includes a new tab called “My Themes” on the bar at the top. The themes will now be categorized according to the way they make the phone look, so it will be easier to find those that appeal to users. Perhaps some famous brands or designers could create their themes with this initiative. It is unknown if additional countries will eventually get this feature or when might that be, but the changes in the update of the Theme Store do seem quite useful, so perhaps the update will be available soon, even if there is no option to buy themes.
