With Android 13 out and about, smartphone companies are doing their best to optimise their skin for the interface. For Samsung, it is the One UI 5, which will be based on the latest Android with a few added touches of its own. Samsung announced the new OneUI on Friday and long story short, looks like we have seen this film before.
Samsung is bringing you Routines with the One UI 5, through which you can trigger a sequence of actions on your device based on your activities using different “Modes”. “For example, while you’re exercising, your priority might be to mute notifications in order to stay in the zone and play music. Alternatively, when it’s time for bed, turning off sounds and turning on Dark mode can help you wind down,” reads a statement from the company.
The app icons and notifications have also received a new look with a more streamlined colour scheme and intuitive notifications, which will supposedly be easier to glance through.
The Lock Screen wallpaper is where things start to get a little more obvious. While users had the option of customising the wallpaper and clock style even before OneUI 5, this update will make things easier. “One UI 5 brings the popular Video Wallpaper from the Lockstar of Good Lock app, directly to the lock screen. With just a few taps, you can trim a video to transform your most memorable moments into a moving tribute on your phone. You can make this lock screen feel even more customised by changing the wallpaper, clock style, and notification pop-ups all from one screen,” the company said.
Samsung has also integrated Google Meet into Galaxy devices which will let users watch videos on YouTube, listen to music on Spotify or YouTube Music, and even play games together during a video conference. Sound familiar (insert side eye emoji)?
Stacked widgets is another new feature, which lets you drag and drop widgets on top of each other and swipe left or right to quickly and easily scroll through each one, to free up space on your home screen. One UI 5 also comes with new Smart suggestions for widgets. Based on your usage patterns and the context of your mobile activity, Smart suggestions automatically suggest apps and actions.
One UI 5 also features a new notification on the Share Panel that warns you if you’re about to unwittingly share a photo that contains potentially sensitive information such as an image of your credit or debit card, driver’s license, Social Security card or passport.
One really interesting feature of the new One UI is Bixby Text Call, which allows you to answer calls with text messages. I know someone who could be using that feature extensively (hint: me). “Bixby converts the text to audio and shares it directly with the caller on the line on your behalf and shows you what the caller is saying by converting their voice to text. With this feature, you can take your calls in any environment without being disruptive or missing a beat,” Samsung added.
The feature is currently only available in Korean and the English version is planned for early 2023 via a One UI software update.
The One UI 5 will be first rolled out for Galaxy S 22 series, Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Z Fold. Only after that will older flagship Galaxy devices receive the update and then eventually so will all other devices. You can check out the list of eligible devices that will be receiving the One UI update here.
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