Samsung recently started One UI 7 beta campaign for the Galaxy S23 series, including my Ultra model, but the software has blown away many stock apps. There’s a background to this story, and below is a detailed explanation, so you beta testers become aware of such scenarios.

On March 13, One UI 7 beta program opened for three S23 devices, and I installed the beta within a few minutes. The installation was smooth and without any issue.

In the next two days, I walked through the software and then, factory reset the phone to test any bugs or issues in the firmware.

I set up a new device and updated the system apps, as always do after installing a new software. Both Galaxy Store and Play Store had only 5-6 app updates, which was surprising compared to my experience with the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

At that time, I verified that many system apps on Galaxy S23 Ultra are no longer available, here’s the list.

• Clock
• Health
• Voice Recorder
• Internet
• Wallet
• PENUP
• TV
• Find
• Wear
• Shop
• SmartThings
• Members
• Calculator

Other than these, a few Google apps are missing as well, while the Microsoft folder is completely removed.

Galaxy S23 Ultra with One UI 7 beta after factory reset

Solution

These apps are listed on the Galaxy Store or Play Store, get them from there, and they’ll become a part of the firmware. Post-installation, the app cannot be uninstalled, achieving its normal stock app behavior.

What’s the problem?

Beta softwares are notorious for their instability, and Samsung also warns beta participants about such complications. Therefore, it’s important to back up important pictures or other data before you proceed with the installation.

In case of factory reset, the phone restores the current firmware in its base form after removing all user stored data. This process ends by restoring system applications.

However, a beta software could have some problems that might hinder any part of the restoration process. This situation may be different for various users, and it could appear on random devices. The chances of facing such issues on a beta build are way higher than a few in a stable release.

So, these stock Samsung apps were not removed from the Galaxy S23 Ultra and ended up being lost in the process of One UI 7 beta firmware restoration.

That’s one case of the software bug and sometimes, it may brick the phone, and you will have to reinstall the software.

Conclusion

Bugs and flaws are a key part of beta testing, participants help developers to give feedback and remove such bugs. However, you should backup important data and don’t format your device until the beta is completed, or it’s very urgent. If you are not comfortable with bugs and flaws, then I suggest you to wait for a stable release.

Samsung is set to start rolling out the Android 15-based One UI 7 update in April 2025. Following the initial press release, the company is now sharing a specific One UI 7 update timeline for different markets, including Asia, Europe, and America.

Official One UI 7 update will first be available on Samsung’s flagship devices released in 2024. The list of Wave I smartphones includes the Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, S24 Ultra, Z Fold 6, and Z Flip 6. Here’s a breakdown of One UI 7 update timeline:

Asia (South Korea)

• Starting April 7 for 2024 flagship Galaxy devices.

One UI 7 update would first drop in South Korea, entering the Asia continent. Being Samsung’s home ground, Korea mostly benefits when it comes to smartphone launches, availability, and software rollouts.

Europe (Germany)

• Starting or shortly after April 7 for Galaxy flagships debuted last year.

Samsung Germany states that the One UI 7 release in Europe will happen shortly after South Korea. That said, key European countries like the UK, Germany, and Poland would start getting the update on or quickly after April 7.

America (USA)

• Starting April 10 for flagship Galaxy devices released in 2024.

Samsung has set April 10 as One UI 7 day for the US consumers. As of the time of writing, the US press release mentions that the new OS will be available for the Galaxy S24 series, Galaxy Z Flip 6, and Z Fold 6 starting April 10.

Image – One UI 7 | Source – Samsung Newsroom

The Stable One UI 7 update will bring smoother animations, enhanced performance, a better multitasking experience, redesigned Quick Settings and Notification Panel, rounded UI elements, and a more streamlined security setup.

Galaxy AI will also be elevated on Galaxy smartphones with the One UI 7 upgrade. Samsung will be bringing new AI features like AI Select, Audio Eraser, and Natural language search to Settings apart from the Now Bar and Live Notifications.

Related Article:

Using Galaxy S24? Here’s everything you need to know about the One UI 7.0 update

Samsung Electronics America will rollout One UI 7 software update for US users on April 10, which differs from a date announced earlier for global Galaxy smartphone owners.

“The update will be available in the U.S. starting with the Galaxy S24 series, Galaxy Z Fold6, and Z Flip6 on April 10” wrote Samsung. The update will expand to other devices in the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, the global push for this new One UI software will begin on April 7 for selected devices.

Source – Samsung

Samsung has been testing One UI 7 beta in the US for the past three months, providing early access to the newest features, such as the Now bar, which enables live notifications on the lock screen with an engaging user interface.

The notifications and quick settings are now separated for a different user experience and animations are improved over One UI 6. The home screen is added with redesigned icons and better widgets.

Personalization is also retouched with new options in clock settings, lock screen, home screen and more.

AI features including Drawing Assist and Audio Eraser will be available for flagship phones with generative capabilities to turn sketches to a drawing or remove distractions from a video respectively. However, the software has many new things to explore.

Until recently, One UI 7 was limited to the Galaxy S24 series and later expanded to Fold 6 and Flip 6 with beta program. Furthermore, the Galaxy S23 and Tab S10 series also joined this race to test this One UI version.

The separate rollout date for the US users should be justified due to the different carriers, which Samsung may be collaborating to release One UI 7 at once for all of its eligible devices.

You can check for the latest software update via Settings > Software update and follow the on screen instructions. Please follow our One UI 7 section to stay updated with the latest news on this matter.

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One UI 7 beta 1 is already shipped for the Galaxy S23 series and its Now Bar feature is lacking some features unlike the Galaxy S24 lineup.

Now Bar enables you to see live notifications from essential apps on the lock screen. This helps them to stay updated with the continuously updating information from apps such as timer, voice recorder, sports scores and more.

It is supported by live notifications, which appear on the home screen and the notifications panel. The outlook and features are shared between the two names except for their places to show up to the users.

This feature was unveiled with One UI 7 beta for Galaxy S24 users. My hands-on experience revealed that it has some new properties that are more intriguing than the text-based description.

For example, a Music now bar gives you music controls such as next, previous and pause/play on the bottom side of the lock screen. This small pill can also expand size as soon as you tap over. You can jump to the app as soon as you touch the larger widget.

The Now bar settings currently have four live notifications including media players, interpreter, maps and emergency sharing. The Galaxy S24 series has around 10 live notifications.

You may also notice that the media player is part of the live notifications list compared to a dedicated switch in the Galaxy S24.

One UI 7 Now Bar Feature in Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S24

Despite limited on-screen features, Now Bar is fully functional with clock, recorder and other apps in the Galaxy S23 series. Since this is a beta software, we can expect further enhancements with a future software update.

Users can access Now Bar from the phone’s settings and search Now Bar. Once opened, you can tweak the available options.

Samsung has officially announced that stable One UI 7 will be available for the Galaxy s23 series in April or May.

One UI 7 has been the most awaited software update for Galaxy smartphone users and Samsung has announced something that should be considered as good news on the face of this massive delay.

It is now confirmed that One UI 7 official rollout will start on April 7. Samsung opened the One UI 7 beta program in early December for the Galaxy S24 series. So, it’s the first time in the past three months, that the company has committed something to the customers, and it’s ready to start new One UI version to users.

The upside of this software includes a major UI overhaul. We now have smoother animations all around, and you can also check new clock styles as well as the app experience thanks to redesigned icons.

Features like Now Bar are incorporated to provide real-time updates for live activities. On the other side, quick settings and notifications panel are now separate from each other.

One UI 7 equips Galaxy AI features such as Writing Assist, Drawing Assist and Audio Eraser. These will be available for top flagship phones starting with the Galaxy S24 series.

The first stable One UI 7 will be available for Galaxy S24 series, Fold 6 and Flip 6 devices on April 7. These phone users can download it right away via settings. With this rollout, beta users will be able to hope onto the stable software version with a minor OTA update.

In the next few weeks, Samsung will expand One UI 7 to the Galaxy S24 FE, Galaxy S23 series, Galaxy S23 FE, Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z flip 5. Galaxy Tab S10 series and Tab S9 series will tag along with these devices for a final rollout.

Based on this news, Samsung should be releasing stable One UI 7 for these phones in late April or May, and the rollout pace also supports this action. Please check our One UI 7 section to stay updated with the latest news.

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