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

Samsung has been rolling out its One UI 7 interface based on Android 15 on select smartphones for several days now. This is an understatement, as currently only four terminals (Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+ and Galaxy S24 Ultra) are eligible to receive the beta interface, and it’s only in a handful of countries, including France (not yet).

No problem: we got our hands dirty – that’s no exaggeration, of course – and polished up the interface on the Galaxy S24+ available to editorial staff. We do not particularly recommend the operation: the interface will soon be officially available on the same terminals, and there will be no need to go through ADB commands. Bricklayer smartphone; Just download.Update over Wi-Fi (above the windTake advantage of it. But while we wait for that to happen, here’s what we were able to observe in this beta. Let us point out that we were satisfied with beta 1, which will be supplemented by further 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 One UI 7’s best features: the Now Bar. This information bar appears on the lock screen, and works like iOS’s Dynamic Island: it allows you to display currently running applications to follow their progress on the Terminal’s always-on display. is Several apps are compatible: Clock (especially for following the timer), Voice Recorder, Emergency Sharing, Samsung Health, Interpreter, Maps, Samsung Notes and Bixby. It also currently applies to playing music and routines. In our case, it works for music: pressing this notification at the bottom of the screen allows you to create precise controls without unlocking the device, and especially media output (speakers, headphones, etc.). . In our case, the Now bar doesn’t define our timers in the 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 (the mode of your choice), the photo gallery or even the interpreter function. So the idea is to make the most common options easy to access.

New Quick Settings

We also see that the notification summary that was displayed in the middle of the screen on One UI 6 moves to the top left of the display on One UI 7. Displays information only for the sake of explaining the interface.

This brings us to the smartphone interface when the screen is unlocked. If earlier, notifications and quick settings were displayed with a swipe to the bottom of the screen, these two elements are separated with One UI 7. If you swipe from the top of the smartphone, you’ll expand notifications. However, it will become necessary Swipe From the top right corner of the terminal to bring up the quick settings. It also offers new controls. We first noticed that the audio controls are now there, that the number of shortcut icons shown from the start is reduced (eight instead of twelve, without a written legend if you don’t expand the panel); So the gauges dedicated to sound and brightness 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, ringtones, etc.).

Notifications add roundness, further elaborating on the style already adopted on One UI 6. Icons also change. Some get brighter colors (Gaming Hub), others are completely overhauled (Samsung Browser, Camera). Their style is less “flat” and some of them (calls, gallery, store) show a gradient. We noticed that the search bar in the application drawer (which hasn’t changed) has moved: it moves from the top of the screen to the bottom. The words “Secured by Knox” (Samsung’s security tool) appear as a watermark in this drawer, to better reassure the user.

Some changes are finally visible in the settings and the rest of the interface. The Galaxy AI options description shows minor changes (but no new functions), or that the camera application’s settings have been tweaked. These new features are of course just a preview of One UI 7. Updates to this beta were released throughout December, and its final availability will include many more features. With Galaxy S25 to discover…