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

The

release of One UI 7
has been something however clean for Samsung. After starting to roll out the replace on April 10 within the US, the tech large paused it just a few brief days later to handle a

serious bug.

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

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

Whereas the look ahead to One UI 7 has been lengthy, the options it has been filled with are nicely definitely worth the wait. I have been lucky sufficient to have had the chance to check One UI 7 on the

Galaxy S25+
for a number of months now, and listed here 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 system.

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

In the event you take pleasure in customizing your telephone display screen with numerous widgets, you will love the brand new widget choices Samsung has launched with One UI 7. For starters, Samsung has added three new widget dimension choices for its default apps, resembling Calendar, Clock, Climate, and extra, permitting you to regulate their dimension to your desire. 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 should resemble rounded rectangles and squares; you may add a little bit of aptitude if you want. Merely faucet the widget, choose settings, and you may see all of the totally different form choices out there.

My favourite new widget possibility is the countdown function for Calendar, which lets you add an occasion to the Calendar widget that counts right down to particular events, resembling birthdays, holidays, and particular occasions. For 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 dwell actions in your lock display screen

One of many first new belongings 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 dwell actions taking place in your telephone. For instance, should you’re enjoying a track

on Spotify
, will probably be displayed within the Now Bar, permitting you to pause playback, navigate backward, or ahead in your playlist, all without having 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 simple to entry, particularly while you’re utilizing your telephone with one hand. In the event you faucet on any of the dwell actions, you may develop them to see extra choices out there. It additionally helps Google Sports activities, so should you observe any sports activities groups on Google, the scores of their video games shall be displayed within the Now Bar. In the event you’re watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs proper now (go Leafs), this can be a should. A few of the apps that assist 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 assist 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 strategy to the notification middle and fast settings menu, splitting them into two distinct menus. Beforehand, while 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, while you swipe down from the top-left or center of the display screen, you solely see notifications. Nevertheless, while you swipe down from the top-right, you entry the fast settings menu, permitting you to regulate your Wi-Fi settings, activate Airplane mode, activate the flashlight, and extra.

I respect this variation, as I discover myself hardly ever utilizing the choices within the fast settings menu except I am touring or altering my display screen brightness. Having one display screen solely devoted to notifications is far more handy, making it really feel extra like iOS 18, which I am accustomed to coming from my iPhone. Samsung has additionally made further adjustments to the fast settings menu, permitting you so as to add extra settings and rearrange the panels on the display screen.

In the event you want the previous type, 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, choosing Panel Settings, and selecting the Collectively possibility reasonably than Separate.

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2

Lock display screen customization

You may regulate 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 customized. Now you can add a gallery widget to the lock display screen, permitting you to show pictures 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 try this. You may even add PNGs to the lock display screen’s gallery widget, so the photographs shall be clear and mix in higher along 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 offered 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 a lot better. Samsung has additionally added a brand new thickness possibility that permits you to modify the thickness of the clock’s font, together with new animated clock type choices. In the event you do not forget that countdown widget for the house display screen I discussed earlier, you too can add it to the lock display screen for any occasions you are excited for.

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1

House 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 fashionable total. However that is not all Samsung has achieved with app icons. In the event you go to the Settings app and choose House 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 that should you now not wish to see the names of apps underneath 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 without having 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 attainable to view apps within the App Drawer vertically as a substitute of horizontally by adjusting the kind choice to Alphabetical.

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

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

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