There is no sugarcoating it. Samsung botched the deployment of One UI 7 on the top Galaxy phones. Still, it is one of the most significant redesigns in One UI history, adding an unmatched level of polish to the company’s appearance. You have surely heard about the Now Bar and the huge Galaxy AI improvements in One UI 7, but here are several tiny, underappreciated updates you might have overlooked.
Double-tap playback controls in AOD
Now Bar is one of the significant new features in One UI 7, promising to provide relevant information at the right time. It also works with Always-on Display, displaying softly at the bottom. This is not the only way Samsung enhanced the Always-on Display with One UI 7. You may now control media playback via the Always On Display (AOD).
If you lock your Galaxy phone running One UI 7 while media is playing, the playback controls show at the bottom of the Now Bar. A single tap does nothing, but double tapping the playback controls will play, pause, or skip the current song or movie.
When you double-tap the album art, an expanded view of the media player appears, complete with larger controls and the ability to adjust media output.
Vertical app drawer
One UI 7 introduces a vertical app drawer to the One UI launcher. The option was included in One UI 5 and earlier releases, however it was deleted with Samsung’s Android 14-based One UI 5 update. The business promised to bring back the vertical app drawer with One UI 6.1.1, however this never happened.
If you have hundreds of apps installed on your Galaxy phone, a vertical app drawer will help you to easily swipe through them. In true Samsung form, there is an anomaly in how the feature was implemented.
Samsung does not specifically refer to it as a vertical app drawer. Instead, open the app drawer, hit the overflow menu button in the lower-left corner of the search bar, and choose Sort, then Alphabetical order. This converts the app drawer to a vertical style and organizes apps by name. You cannot move apps in this view, but you may position them within folders. Folders are located at the top, followed by applications and games.
A useful feature of the vertical app drawer is the addition of a fast-scroll bar on the right, which allows you to swiftly skim through and jump to any portion of your app list. The Home Up Good Lock module, which was updated with One UI 7, allows for more customisation of the home screen and app drawer.
Quick switch between the notification panel and Quick Settings
Samsung used an iOS-like approach with One UI 7, separating the notification panel and Quick Settings into two sections. You can return to the former One UI 6-like layout, but sample this adjustment for a few days before making a decision.
Compared to Apple’s distinct Quick Settings and notification panel design, Samsung’s method has one significant advantage. Swiping between the Quick Settings panel and the notification shade allows you to rapidly move between them. The same is true for phones from Xiaomi, Oppo, and OnePlus, all of which have long used separate Quick Settings and notification panels.
Although Samsung was not the first to market with the idea, it made care to include a helpful change in One UI 7.
Minimized pop-up apps group together
Samsung’s Android skin includes a variety of useful multitasking capabilities, including the option to run programs in a pop-up view. This allows you to run many programs simultaneously and minimize them into a floating shortcut. When you minimize numerous apps in pop-up mode, your Galaxy phone’s display may appear cluttered.
One UI 7 solves this problem by grouping the floating shortcuts of all minimized programs. Even better, there is a shortcut for launching all minimized apps at once. If you do not frequently utilize pop-up view multitasking on your Galaxy phone, you may disregard this as a minor modification. If you rely significantly on it, you will benefit from this modification.
New charging animation
Samsung’s work with One UI 7 is evident, from the smooth system animations to the general fluidity. The experience rivals iOS in polish and feels substantially better than other Android skins. You will not encounter sporadic lags or stutters. The new charging animation demonstrates Samsung’s attention to detail in One UI 7.
If you put in your Galaxy phone to charge when the display is turned off, a charging pill with a slick animation appears at the bottom, where the Now Bar resides. It does not appear in extreme brightness, but rather in a dimmed state. When you are in a dark room, the phone automatically adjusts the brightness to make it even darker. The charging information can be displayed even when the screen is turned off.
One UI 7 is really improved
Samsung’s Android skin offers a feature-rich experience, including useful multitasking options. Still, it felt like One UI lacked the polish and attention to detail that Pixel UI and iOS possessed.
With One UI 7, Samsung steps up, demonstrating that when it wants to, it can create a professional and well-rounded Android experience while correcting some of its long-standing faults. So it is sad that the focus on One UI 7 is primarily on its rollout delays, rather than the polish and enhancements it delivers.
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Robert Haba is the founder and editor-in-chief of Droid Tools. A lifelong gadget enthusiast with over a decade following the Android ecosystem, he built this publication to cut through the noise and give readers honest, real-world coverage of the tech they actually use.
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