One UI 7 (beta): overview of the new features available

Samsung has been offering its One UI 7 interface based on Android 15 on a selection of smartphones for several days. This is an understatement, since only four terminals are currently eligible (the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+ And Galaxy S24 Ultra) upon receipt of the beta of the interface, and only in a handful of countries, of which France is not (yet) one.

No matter: we got our hands dirty – that said without any exaggeration, of course – and flashed the interface on a Galaxy S24+ available to the editorial staff. We do not particularly recommend the operation: the interface will shortly be available officially on these same terminals, and will not require going through ADB commands at the risk of brick the smartphone; just download theupdate via wifi (over the air) to take advantage of it. But while we wait for that to happen, here is what we were able to observe in this beta. Let us point out that we were content with beta 1, which will be supplemented by more betas between now and the release of the final version of the interface.

A lock screen with a Now Bar

This beta welcomes one of the coolest features of One UI 7: the Now Bar. This information bar is displayed on the lock screen, and works a bit like the iOS Dynamic Island : it allows you to display the applications currently running to follow their progress on the terminal's always-on display. Several apps are compatible: Clock (especially to follow a timer), Voice recorder, Emergency sharing, Samsung Health, Interpreter, Maps, Samsung Notes and Bixby. This also applies to currently playing music and Routines. In our case, this works for music: pressing this notification placed at the bottom of the screen allows you to develop precise controls without unlocking the device, and in particular the media output (speakers, headphones, etc.) . In our case, the Now Bar does not show our timers defined in Clock.

The lock screen reveals other new features. The customization options are more or less the same (fonts, colors), but we note the arrival of new widgets. Among them, quick access to the camera (mode of your choice), the Photo Gallery or even the Interpreter function. The idea is therefore to facilitate access to the most common options.

New quick settings

We also notice that the summary of notifications, displayed in the middle of the screen on One UI 6, moves to the top left of the display on One UI 7. When clicking on this area brought up notifications and quick settings mixed, the new version of the interface only shows notifications, for the sake of clarity.

This brings us to the smartphone interface when the screen is unlocked. If previously, notifications and quick settings were displayed with a swipe towards the bottom of the screen, these two elements are separated with One UI 7. If you swipe from the top of the smartphone, you will expand the notifications. However, it will be necessary to swipe from the upper right corner of the terminal to bring up the quick settings. These also offer new controls. We first notice that the audio controls are now there, that the number of shortcut icons displayed from the outset is less (eight instead of twelve, without written legend if you do not expand a panel); the gauges dedicated to sound and brightness therefore appear higher on the screen, which also appears less busy. We also note that a long press on each of these gauges allows access to more parameters (adaptive brightness, color tones, etc.).

Notifications gain roundness, further accentuating the style already adopted on One UI 6. The icons also change. Some gain brighter colors (Gaming Hub), others are completely revised (Samsung browser, camera). Their style is less “flat” and a gradient appears on some of them (Calls, Gallery, Store). We notice that the search bar in the application drawer (which has not changed) has moved: it goes from the top to the bottom of the screen. The words “Secured by Knox” (Samsung's security tool) appear as a watermark in this drawer, to better reassure the user.

Few changes are finally visible in the Settings and in the rest of the interface. Minor changes in the descriptions (but no new functions) of the Galaxy AI options are visible, or that the settings of the Camera application have evolved. These new features are of course only a preview of One UI 7; Updates to this beta were released throughout December, and its final availability will include many more features. To discover with the Galaxy S25…