Android updates have felt stale for years, but One UI 7 promised enough changes that I felt genuine enthusiasm for this release. Now that I have installed the beta on my Galaxy Z Fold 6, I’m happy to say that it did not disappoint. There’s so much to like here.
Over the next month, many of last year’s phones will start to receive One UI 7, with more devices getting the update in the weeks after that. I love the work that has gone into making my phone feel better today than it did when I bought it. I think many of you will, too.
1
It’s All About That Look
As much as it surprises me to say, I now prefer Samsung’s interface over stock Android. One UI is much more configurable and offers more features. Yet when I picked up a Pixel phone, I felt somewhat envious of the attention Google paid to all the animations. One UI 7 not only incorporates many of the same animations, I prefer the way they flow on Samsung’s device.
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Animations combined with Samsung’s combination of transparent elements and subtle gradients result in a luscious experience with depth and nuance. Sprinkle in refreshed app icons that, while not a radical rethink of what an icon could be, make things feel new. Then there’s the attention Samsung’s team has paid to widgets, which now look consistent and attractive enough that I actually want to see them on my home screen. All the visual refinements, taken together, are what I love most about One UI 7.
2
Finally, a Vertical App Drawer
Android hasn’t always had a vertically scrolling app drawer, but Google settled on that approach years ago, and most other Android phone makers embraced the change. Not Samsung. The company’s app drawer has continued to be a horizontal, paginated affair.
With One UI 7, Samsung is joining the rest of the pack. This is a small change, but it makes a big difference. I can now quickly scroll between apps with a single swipe, even jumping directly to specific parts of the alphabet.
3
I Dig the Now Bar and Live Notifications
The Now Bar is perhaps the biggest new feature in One UI 7. As a new piece of functionality, it doesn’t add much. I’m not into sports, and live score updates is one of the feature’s biggest perks.
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If I was heavily invested in the Now Bar doing a bunch of other things, I’d probably feel let down. Rather, just the opposite. I’ve been surprised by how nice it is, due largely to how much better it is at presenting ongoing actions than persistent notifications were.
On the lockscreen, my currently playing media now feels very distinct from other types of notifications, which by default are tucked away in the notification area as icons. When you tap the Now Bar, it surfaces more controls. Swipes allow you to switch between currently running tasks, like your music or a timer.
I have particularly taken a liking to the way Live Notifications, which resemble the Now Bar, appear in my notification area. The pop of color keeps currently playing media accessible in a way that doesn’t feel as cluttered and haphazard as notification icons. Tapping this area opens media controls in a widget matching the one that appears in your notification and quick status drawer.
This implementation is so well done, I can see why someone might hope Google brings the Now Bar to Pixel phones.
4
Foldables Get a Floating Taskbar
The Galaxy Z Fold series has long come with a PC-like taskbar that appears across the bottom of the screen when you unfold the device. In One UI 7, this gets replaced with a floating taskbar, or dock, that auto-hides until you swipe up from the bottom of the screen. It looks a lot like a horizontal Edge Panel.
I like this change, since it maximizes screen space without doing away with the functionality of a taskbar entirely. Yet, like many of the changes in One UI, the old version of the taskbar remains available for those who want it.
5
Make App Folders Big
You can drag any app icon onto your home screen, but if you want to give them some organization, that’s when folders come in. Grouping icons together creates a folder of icons that occupies as much space as a regular icon. To launch an app inside, you tap once to open the folder, then you tap on the app.
One UI 7 lets you create enlarged folders that provide organization without requiring the extra click. Folders are large enough that app icons are only slightly smaller than they normally are, leaving them easy for your finger to find.
6
Notifications and Quick Settings Have Their Own Space
In One UI 7, swiping down from the top-right shows an entire screen’s worth of quick settings. Swiping down from the center or top-left shows your notifications. Once either is open, you can swipe left or right to switch between them. The background also goes completely black, which looks great on a phone with an OLED panel.
I like this change. The quick settings have always felt diminished to me by cramming them into the top of a screen that’s primarily showing me other information (or left mostly empty when there are no notifications to show). Now they get their own place of prominence, a single place to toggle things about your phone and its connection to other devices. This screen is also much more functional than the expanded quick settings view on stock Android that appears when you swipe down twice from the top of the screen.
The change takes some getting used to, and I understand why many would prefer to go back to the muscle memory they’ve established over the course of over a decade. Fortunately, Samsung’s left the option to revert for those that want it.
One UI 7 is a massive revitalization of Samsung’s mobile interface. With the amount of attention to detail that went into this software, combined with all the refinement that went into the Galaxy Z Fold 6, I have never used a software and hardware combo this spot on. Is it perfect? Nothing ever is. But after turning off most of the AI bits, it’s starting to feel pretty close.
