5 One UI 7 options that make me cease lacking my iPhone

The

launch of One UI 7
has been something however easy for Samsung. After starting to roll out the replace on April 10 within the US, the tech large paused it just a few quick days later to deal with a

severe bug.

Now, over every week later, Samsung has lastly resumed the rollout, permitting customers to begin downloading One UI 7 once more on

eligible units
, starting with the Galaxy S24 collection and the newest Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip fashions. Extra units, such because the S23 collection, will obtain it quickly.

Whereas the await One UI 7 has been lengthy, the options it has been full of are nicely well worth the wait. I have been lucky sufficient to have had the chance to check One UI 7 on the

Galaxy S25+
for just a few months now, and listed below are 5 of my favourite options that made me not miss my iPhone, and that it’s best to check out when you obtain the replace in your Galaxy gadget.

Samsung Galaxy S25+

Model

Samsung

SoC

Snapdragon 8 Elite

Show

6.7-inch

RAM

12GB

Storage

256GB, 512GB

Battery

4,900mAh

Broaden

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You now add a countdown widget to your house display screen/app pages

In case you get pleasure from customizing your telephone display screen with varied widgets, you will love the brand new widget choices Samsung has launched with One UI 7. For starters, Samsung has added three new widget measurement choices for its default apps, corresponding to Calendar, Clock, Climate, and extra, permitting you to regulate their measurement to your choice. When you place the widget, you may drag its corners to resize it.

One other new widget function is the choice to customise its form, which suggests your widgets now not must resemble rounded rectangles and squares; you may add a little bit of aptitude if you want. Merely faucet the widget, choose settings, and you will see all of the totally different form choices obtainable.

My favourite new widget choice is the countdown function for Calendar, which lets you add an occasion to the Calendar widget that counts right down to particular events, corresponding to birthdays, holidays, and particular occasions. As an example, I created a countdown widget that tracked the times till the Andor season two premiere.

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4

Now Bar

You view stay actions in your lock display screen

One of many first new stuff you’ll discover instantly with One UI 7 is the

Now Bar
. It is a new pill-shaped widget on the lock display screen that shows all of the stay actions occurring in your telephone. For instance, for those who’re taking part in a tune

on Spotify
, it will likely be displayed within the Now Bar, permitting you to pause playback, navigate backward, or ahead in your playlist, all with no need to unlock your telephone or open the app.

What I like most in regards to the Now Bar is its placement. It is positioned proper on the backside of the lock display screen, making it tremendous straightforward to entry, particularly if you’re utilizing your telephone with one hand. In case you faucet on any of the stay actions, you may broaden them to see extra choices obtainable. It additionally helps Google Sports activities, so for those who comply with any sports activities groups on Google, the scores of their video games might be displayed within the Now Bar. In case you’re watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs proper now (go Leafs), this can be a should. Among the apps that help the Now Bar are Spotify, YouTube Music, Google Maps, Clock, Voice Recorder, Samsung Notes, Reside Interpreter, and Samsung Well being. Extra third-party apps are anticipated to help the Now Bar sooner or later.

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Fast settings and notifications have been separated

With One UI 7, Samsung has adopted a notably Apple-like method to the notification heart and fast settings menu, splitting them into two distinct menus. Beforehand, if you swiped down from the highest of the display screen, you would be greeted with fast settings choices and notifications. Now, with One UI 7, if you swipe down from the top-left or center of the display screen, you solely see notifications. Nonetheless, if you swipe down from the top-right, you entry the short settings menu, permitting you to regulate your Wi-Fi settings, activate Airplane mode, activate the flashlight, and extra.

I respect this alteration, as I discover myself not often utilizing the choices within the fast settings menu until I am touring or altering my display screen brightness. Having one display screen solely devoted to notifications is rather more handy, making it really feel extra like iOS 18, which I am accustomed to coming from my iPhone. Samsung has additionally made extra adjustments to the short settings menu, permitting you so as to add extra settings and rearrange the panels on the display screen.

In case you desire the outdated model, the place fast settings and notifications are mixed into one display screen, you may change it again by opening the Fast Settings menu, tapping the pencil icon, deciding on Panel Settings, and selecting the Collectively choice slightly than Separate.

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2

Lock display screen customization

You may modify the Clock widget extra freely now

The lock display screen can also be receiving some love with One UI 7, that includes new customization choices that may make yours much more distinctive and personalised. Now you can add a gallery widget to the lock display screen, permitting you to show photos out of your telephone’s gallery on it. So if you would like an image of your annoying however lovely cat in your lock display screen always, now you can do this. You may even add PNGs to the lock display screen’s gallery widget, so the photographs might be clear and mix in higher together with your lock display screen’s background.

My favourite new lock display screen addition with One UI 7 is the power to maneuver the clock face round much more freely. This function is on the market in One UI 6, however One UI 7 introduces many extra choices, permitting you to regulate and scale the clock to match your telephone’s lock display screen background significantly better. Samsung has additionally added a brand new thickness choice that permits you to modify the thickness of the clock’s font, together with new animated clock model choices. In case you keep in mind that countdown widget for the house display screen I discussed earlier, you may also add it to the lock display screen for any occasions you are excited for.

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1

Residence display screen upgrades

New app icons and sizes

With One UI 7, Samsung has up to date all its default app icons with recent appearances that make them stand out and look extra trendy total. However that is not all Samsung has performed with app icons. In case you go to the Settings app and choose Residence display screen, now you can change the scale of all of your app icons. You may select between small, medium, and enormous icons, with the default setting set to medium.

Two different new settings have been added to additional customise the house display screen: the power to show off app labels and widget labels. Which means for those who now not wish to see the names of apps below their icons, you may disable them. The result’s a super-clean, minimalistic search for all of your apps on the house display screen and totally different app pages.

Moreover, now you can enlarge the scale of app folders, enabling you to entry apps inside them with no need to open the folders themselves. That is game-changing and one thing I hope Apple adopts for iOS sooner or later. The App Drawer has additionally undergone some modifications, with Samsung relocating the search bar from the highest of the display screen to the underside for higher usability. Additional, it is now doable to view apps within the App Drawer vertically as an alternative of horizontally by adjusting the kind choice to Alphabetical.

There are a few different honorable mentions I wish to give for

different new One UI 7 options,
together with the redesigned digital camera app and new battery safety modes.

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