Everything new in Samsung One UI 5
Thebest Samsung phonesand tablets on the market runOne UI 5or a new build of its skin. Samsung has come a long way from its TouchWiz days, and with itsAndroid 13-based One UI 5 update, the company raised the bar once again. Below is a look at the new features and changes One UI 5 added to all compatible Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets.
Deeper Material You integration
With One UI 4 in 2021, Samsung integratedAndroid 12’s Material You designand dynamic theming. However, the implementation was half-baked as the color palette changes did not apply to all UI elements. That’s no longer the case in One UI 5, as the color changes are applied throughout the system, including the volume picker.
Left:Volume panel in One UI 4.Right: One UI 5’s volume panel.
Improved dynamic theming engine
Like Android 13 on the Google Pixel phones, Samsung improved its dynamic theming engine with expanded color support in One UI 5. The skin provides up to 16 preset color themes based on the applied wallpaper. Or you can select from 12 basic color choices, including four two-tone options.
Left:Material You color palette in One UI 4.Right: One UI 5’s Material You color palette.
Unlike Pixel phones, Samsung allows disabling the color palette in One UI 5. you’re able to disable the wallpaper-based theme engine if you’re not a fan of it.
Additionally, Samsung expanded app icon theming to third-party apps with One UI 5. So applying a dynamic theme gives a more consistent look and experience as app icons are also themed. App icon theming was limited to first-party apps in One UI 4.
Left:App icon theming limited to Samsung apps in One UI 4.Right: App icon theming works with third-party app icons in One UI 5.
Smoother system animations and effects
Samsung tweaked the system animations and transitions in One UI 5 to make them smoother than before. The background blur on the homescreen, quick settings panel, and other UI elements use brighter colors for an improved experience. There are even more animation-related improvements in One UI 5.1.
Easier lock screen customization
Samsung took a cue from iOS 16 and made lock screen customization easier in One UI 5. You can enter the editing mode by long pressing on the lock screen. From here, you can customize the placement and look of the lock screen clock, customize how notifications appear, and add your contact information.
None of the lock screen customization options are new. They were also a part of One UI 4, but with One UI 5, Samsung made them easier to edit.
Improved widget stacking
Samsung introducedwidget stacking capability in One UI 4.1. One UI 5 further tweaked its implementation to improve usability. Previously, you selected the Smart Widget stack followed by its size from the widget picker and added it to the homescreen. After this, you had to long-press the Smart Widget and select the widgets you wanted to stack together. The entire process was cumbersome and unnecessarily complicated.
Samsung is making things simpler in One UI 5 by removing the Smart Widgets concept. Instead, you long-press a widget on the homescreen, tap theCreate stackoption, and select the widgets you want to stack on top of each other.
New multitasking gestures
For an improved multitasking experience, Samsung added two experimental gestures in One UI 5. They are a part of its Labs initiative, so you’ll dig deep into the Settings menu to access them.
Head over toSettings>Advanced features>Labs, where you’ll see two new additions: Swipe for pop-up view and Swipe for split screen. The first gesture opens an app in windowed mode when you swipe from the display’s upper-right corner to the middle. The second gesture allows you to quickly trigger split screen mode with a two-finger swipe-up action from the bottom of the display. These gestures were available in One UI 4 through a Good Lock module.
Text recognition in the Gallery app
In One UI 5, theSamsung Galleryapp’s optical character recognition (OCR) capabilities are put at the forefront. ATicon appears in the lower-right corner when the app detects text in a photo. Tapping it highlights the text, which you can then copy or share.
This feature is also in the One UI 4-build of the Gallery app but is only accessible through Bixby Vision.
Privacy hub
Samsung completely redesigned the Security and privacy section in One UI 5. There are no new features to play with, but the company’s approach is similar to what you see on Pixel phones. It aims to provide a complete overview of your phone’s security status and what you can do to address any weak points or issues.
Security and Privacy are two different sub-menus in One UI 4.
The revamped Privacy tab in One UI 5.
Custom call backgrounds
you could set custom call backgrounds in One UI 5 for specific contacts. Samsung allowed changing the call backgrounds in previous One UI versions, but you were limited to the built-in option. In One UI 5, you can select an image of your choice on a per-contact basis.
Tweaked notification panel
One UI 5 brings some minor tweaks to the notification shade. App icons are shown more prominently, so you may quickly identify the app from which the notification was sent.
Left: One UI 4.Right: One UI 5.
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