One UI
Samsung One UI 5.1.1 Features – Whole new level of innovation and productivity
Samsung announced that it’s bringing select features from the One UI 5.1.1 to previous generations of devices. It’s part of Samsung’s mission to enrich the Galaxy ecosystem to help maximize users’ entertainment experiences and mobile productivity.
Samsung One UI 5.1.1 Update & Features
To provide a more seamless and enhanced device experience to users, the One UI 5.1.1 software is rolling out to Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4 devices starting this month, with Z Fold 3, Z Flip 3, Z Fold 2, and Z Flip devices receiving the update sequentially.
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Besides, Galaxy Tab S8, Tab S8+, Tab S8 Ultra, Tab S7, Tab S7+, Tab S7 FE, Tab S6 Lite, Tab A8, Tab A7 Lite, Tab Active 3 and Tab Active 4 Pro users are also set to enjoy several new user-centric features as part of the One UI 5.1.1 update.
Flex Mode Panel – New ways to interact
One UI 5.1.1 helps Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4 users enjoy their favorite media and content easier than ever with Flex Mode, thanks to a range of enhanced features and functionalities. This upgrade now makes it simpler for you to show or hide your Flex Mode Panel.
Now, the panel’s icon will float up the screen, allowing you easy access. Enjoy a more personalized Flex Mode Panel experience by simply dragging and dropping the icon on the toolbar. This customizable panel provides users with easy access to features such as Multi Window, touchpad, screen capture and more.
With One UI 5.1.1, the media play bar button — complete with a 10-second fast forward and rewind and features access — is showcased in one convenient place when the Flex Mode Panel activates. You can also press down for easier scrubbing through your media’s progress bar.
When you’re enjoying a movie in Flex Mode, you can make the most of your favorite content by rewinding or fast-forwarding with just a single tap with your personalized Flex Mode Panel Tool Bar. You can open a new Multi Window to reply to a message or browse for reviews online.
Enhanced Multi Window
The multitasking experience for foldables and tablets is set to improve with the One UI 5.1.1 update. You can easily open Samsung Internet in a pop-up window to search for something while enjoying a video using your Galaxy Z Fold 4, Z Flip 4, or Tab S8.
The window can be easily dragged to the edge of the screen, where it will now snap seamlessly into place when you’re done browsing. If you want to access Samsung Internet again, simply tap the pop-up to open the window to its previous location.
Intuitively switch from the pop-up window to Multi Window by pressing and holding the handle at the top of the pop-up window. One UI 5.1.1 supports more effortless launch and control of your screen, allowing you to seamlessly switch to split view and easily control your screen through a simple long-press of the pop-up view handle.
Drag and drop
Samsung’s latest One UI update makes it even quicker to seamlessly share multiple photos from your Gallery with a friend via a messaging app.
Two-handed drag and drop is now supported on your foldable and tablet’s main screen, letting you to open your desired app with one hand and then use the other to drag a file, app icon, or other item into your target folder or location.
Improved Taskbar
With the latest update, Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Tab S8 users can unlock next-level productivity for both work and play thanks to innovative additions to the Taskbar. Now, the Taskbar enables lightning-fast task switching with access to up to four recent apps.
One UI
One UI 6 Watch Beta 8 update live for Galaxy Watch 5, Watch 4
Samsung has released the One UI 6 Watch Beta 8 for the Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 4 series. This update introduces enhancements to improve user experience and address existing issues. Notably, the stable update is already rolled out for Galaxy Watch 6 beta testers.
One UI 6 Watch Beta 8 is rolling out for Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 6 with the version number ending with ZXK1. This update makes these Galaxy watches ready for the stable One UI 6 Watch update.
The update enhances system stability and performance to ensure smoother operation across various functions. Additionally, the update focuses on enhancing battery efficiency to extend device usage between charges.
Moreover, the update fixes the issues related to network interoperability to improve connectivity reliability. It also brings some improvements to enhance the overall experience.
This beta update not only aims to improve performance but also responds to user feedback to deliver a more seamless and efficient wearable experience. Users are advised to update their watches to the latest beta software version to enjoy enhanced features.
Before proceeding with the update, it is important to back up any important data stored on your device to avoid potential data loss during the update process.
The update process is simple and can be done over the air (FOTA) through Galaxy Wearable. Just navigate to Galaxy Watch settings, select Watch software update, and follow the prompts to download and install the update.
Back in October 2024, Samsung released the stable One UI 6 Watch update for beta testers of the Galaxy Watch 6 and Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. The company is going to expand its non-beta Galaxy Watches soon.
One UI
Samsung One UI 7 will clash with iOS 18 for AI Notifications
Samsung will bring new AI features with One UI 7 to simplify user interactions including notifications summary that will directly clash with a similar capability in Apple’s iOS 18 operating system.
The iPhone maker already introduced this capability in iOS 18 devices and we can have a detailed look at what it has to offer.
The Cupertino-based tech giant introduced new notification upgrades under Apple Intelligence, a new generative AI feature set. However, it is only accessible for a few models including iPhone 16 series, 15 Pro, and Pro Max.
Once enabled, the feature will show a preview of the content inside a notification without opening it entirely. This will help users to see key details such as an invitation for a dinner or a reunion. It not only summarizes the content but also prioritizes long or stacked notifications that require your attention.
Users can check all notifications from the notification center and scroll back to see what they’ve missed in the past. Users get options to customize this option in the notifications setting.
How it works?
This feature relies on the smartphone’s on-device AI processing and large language models (LLMs). Algorithms designed for this task analyze the text content of individual notifications to identify the key details or information. Then, the content is processed by LLM to understand the nuances of language and generate a readable summary.
The ability to run a large language model plays a major role in summarizing the content. That’s why many of the previous iPhones aren’t eligible for Apple Intelligence, which I’ve discussed in a separate article here.
Samsung
The Korean phone maker is yet to release One UI 7 but it reportedly has a new change for notifications. As of the One UI 6 version, Samsung is offering a quick settings panel. It combines notifications and shortcuts in one place.
This could change with One UI 7 with a split. The Notification can be opened on a separate screen with a swipe down from the left side of the screen. On the other hand, the shortcut switches will open from the right side.
These gestures will make it an iOS 18 companion, which had these control and notification centers for a long time. That’s not it, a report also indicates that Samsung will Galaxy flagship’s on-device AI power to summarize notifications.
Unfortunately, there’s no visual clue of how the feature will look. However, we have a leak that shows how the separate notification center will actually look in a One UI 7 device.
Conclusion
Notifications are the key to driving smartphone interactions and help users stay updated with the latest activity for different apps.
AI tools will simplify notifications and make them easy to read at a glance without spending much of the time going through each of them.
While Apple has set a good example for AI notifications summary in iOS 18, Samsung has a chance to bring in its competition with One UI 7. Read more about One UI 7 in our archive here.
One UI
PSA: Stable One UI 7.0 isn’t coming until next year
With each major update, Samsung brings enhancements that improve our Galaxy devices’ experience. The latest version of One UI is promised to bring a fresh new design.
If you are waiting for the latest Samsung software update, I have something to tell you, but it might not be good news for you. Even though we are all excited to try out the upcoming new features, it looks like we have to wait a bit longer for the full, stable version of One UI 7.0, based on Android 15.
Samsung has a track record of rolling out its One UI updates with new Android versions, but this year the company is taking time to make sure everything works smoothly. According to official information provided by Samsung, the One UI 7.0 won’t come out until next year, most likely with the forthcoming Galaxy S25 series launch. This means Samsung wants to make sure the software is really good before it is available for everyone, instead of rushing it out.
We don’t have all the details yet, but we are going to see big changes in the look and feel of the One UI 7, based on what was heard at the Samsung Developer Conference in 2024. We’re not sure exactly what’s coming, but there’s lots of excitement about getting many advanced AI features, though not all might be ready when it first comes out.
What’s the current status?
If you are not getting the One UI 7 soon, you will have to use the One UI 6.1 or 6.1.1 for a few more months. However, Samsung’s promise of monthly security updates ensures your device remains secure and up-to-date with minor enhancements and important patches.
Samsung hasn’t yet started the One UI 7.0 beta program for eligible Galaxy smartphones. The company is rumored to start the beta program in November 2024. You can try some of the initial features during beta testing but keep this in mind, beta versions can come with some serious bugs.
Samsung is known for its reliable software support, and this extra time might give you a more refined, user-friendly interface when One UI 7.0 finally comes out.
To wrap things up, even though waiting for One UI 7.0 might be tough for some Galaxy device owners, Samsung seems to be working on making it good for everyone. In the meantime, keep your devices charged and ready for the update when it arrives. Keep checking SammyFans.com for the latest news. For now, you should enjoy what you have in your Galaxy.