Samsung’s upcoming One UI 7.0 Beta is around the corner and from everything that has been leaked so far, it will bring a major overhaul to Samsung devices in terms of user interface and new features. Many details are already available on the internet, some concrete ones and some still rumors. In this read, we have compiled everything we know about One UI 7 and all the features we can expect from Samsung’s upcoming Android 15-based user interface.
One UI 7: Release Date Confirmed
Samsung has confirmed that One UI 7 will be released in January 2025 with the release of the Galaxy S25 series. The Korean giant also said in its recent Developer’s Conference that the first One UI 7 Beta will be pushed to developers by the end of this year. The Galaxy S25 series will be the first to receive One UI 7 followed by the Galaxy S24 series, Fold and Flip series, and then the mid-range devices.
Based on Android 15, One UI 7 is expected to be a pretty big release as Samsung is revamping the UI, adding new features, and making significant overall changes. It’s one of the reasons why One UI 7’s Beta announcement happened so late. In comparison, the One UI 6 Beta announcement came in August last year before the Samsung Developer’s Conference.
One UI 7: Supported Devices List
Since Samsung now promises Android updates for up to five years, One UI 7 will come to a bunch of Samsung devices. Considering the long list of phones that Samsung has in its portfolio, it will push out the upcoming One UI 7 update to the Galaxy S24 and Fold 6 series first, right after the new Galaxy S25 series is launched in Q1 2025.
Wondering if your Samsung is eligible for One UI 7? Check out our list of One UI 7 eligible devices that will get the update, which we made based on the year the Galaxy devices were released and the number of updates Samsung promised for them.
All New Features in OneUI 7 (Leaked)
Going by the leaks and rumors on X (formerly Twitter), there are plenty of design changes and new features that we’ll get to see with the One UI 7 update. Let’s take a closer look at these features:
1. Redesigned Stock Icons
According to a leak, the default set of icons in One UI will see a redesign. They will feature more rounded iconography with distinct shades of colors that will make it easy for you to tell them apart.
These new icons look refreshing from the current ones that we have grown used to. The change will be more prominent for Camera, Gallery, Settings, and Samsung Internet.
2. Bold View for Apps
Another feature taken right from iOS 18 is the bold view for app icons. Picking this option from Settings will expand the icon size and hide the app names. You can go back to the normal view with labels by selecting the Classic option.
3. New Quick Settings Panel
Along with icons, One UI 7 will also bring a revamped Quick Settings panel. One of the latest leaks reveals showcases how it looks and works. The Wi-Fi and Bluetooth pills are at the top followed by a cluster of smaller quick settings tiles. This is followed by the brightness and audio sliders and two more tiles.
It may look like there’s lots of wasted space but that’s reserved for the media playback panel. The notifications in the notification panel appear as huge horizontal pills. The overall aesthetics are unique but the images show that there’s a lot of work to be done still.
4. Split Notifications Tray
In another move to blur the differences between Android and iOS, Samsung will be bringing a new option to show notifications on a separate page from quick settings. I imagine that you will have to pull down from the left side to show notifications and the right to bring up quick settings. You can, of course, show them in a typical merged view if you prefer that.
5. Dynamic Island Style Notifications
In a small video shared by Smartprix, we see another element taken from iOS that works like the Dynamic Island. You’ll see a small pill-shaped notification on the left side of the status bar, which you can long press to expand. OnePlus implemented this feature already with the Oxygen OS 14 update, so we might see more Android OEMs adopting it soon.
6. Pill Shaped Battery Icon
While the status bar didn’t see any major changes, the battery indicator did get the rounded treatment like the rest of the One UI 7 interface. It has a pill-shaped design, with the battery percentage showing up inside.
7. Smoother UI Animations
Samsung will come with faster, more responsive app opening and closing animations. They have added interruptible animations in case you decide to close the app midway as it opens. Some new page return animations for the back gesture coming with Android 15 are also going to be available. This will go a long way to offer a more polished user experience.
New animations and interface for the search menu. pic.twitter.com/1VPmAfFKdx— Khaled 🍉 (@TechKhaled_) October 4, 2024
From the recent menu to app opening and closing animations, and per-app animations, there are a lot of changes that are currently being tested. The look and feel of the UI certainly seem to be the priority in One UI 7.
8. App Lock
App lock is one of those features that is a must if you don’t want others to snoop around your phone when you hand your phone to them. Going by an X post, we should get to see a basic implementation of it in One UI 7.0.
I suppose it should let you lock apps using a passcode, password, or pattern with an option to unlock them with biometrics. It is still unknown whether Samsung will adopt the privacy space feature that is coming with Android 15.
9. Live Activities on Lock Screen
Samsung will be adapting Live activities from iOS for the lock screen on One UI 7. The feature will be called the Control area, but it will work somewhat similar to Live activities. You will be able to track the progress of an ongoing song or your Uber ride. You can long-press it to expand and show more details if you want to.
10. Change Lock Screen Shortcuts
Given the emphasis on customization in One UI, it always bothered me that we couldn’t change the left and right lock screen shortcuts. Not without a Good Lock module, at least. But with the upcoming update, you will be able to add any shortcut that you want to quickly jump into from the lock screen. This is a great accessibility feature, and I am glad Samsung is finally adding it.
11. More Resizable Widgets
Lastly, we should get to see some new widgets both for the home and the lock screen with more resizable options. Currently, there are only a few widgets that you can add on the lock screen, so some new ones are surely going to be welcomed.
12. Cross Device Continuity
Samsung is the only Android manufacturer to create its own ecosystem. However, it has not been able to take advantage of it in any significant manner like Apple. This will change with Continuity notifications which will let you send notifications, incoming calls, or video calls to other Galaxy smartphones and devices signed in with the same Samsung account.
13. New Layout for Camera App
The camera icon isn’t the only thing that has received a redesign. One UI 7 also updates the layout of the camera app, bringing controls and all other options to the bottom section of the app. Options like flash, aspect ratio, timer, and settings, which used to be at the top, have now been shifted right above the camera shutter button.
New Camera app look that has better reachability. pic.twitter.com/gcZ97NNTJa
— Khaled 🍉 (@TechKhaled_) October 4, 2024
Placing all the different camera modes like Portrait, Video, and Night Mode below the shutter. It leaves the top portion of the UI empty while making the options more reachable with one hand.
14. Galaxy Avatar
Samsung’s AR emoji is being replaced by Galaxy Avatar. The page hosts a Sync with Samsung Cloud option followed by Avatar Stickers and Avatar Camera. There are also Design new clothes, Profile, and Create an Avatar video options that are all grayed out, probably because the Sync with Samsung Cloud toggle is turned off.
15. New Widget & Styles
There are a few new upcoming widgets and an iOS-like frosted blur going for them. In the image shared by @KhaledTech on X, you can see a new Internet widget that shows you the amount of time spent on the Internet and the time remaining. The frosted blur looks quite good and feels heavily inspired by iOS.
16. New Gallery and Phone Apps
Samsung is also working on a revamped Gallery and Phone apps. The Gallery app can be seen with a Google Photos-like menu tab at the bottom while the Phone app is still a work in progress. More details about these apps should be available as One UI 7 Beta gets closer to release.
New Gallery and Phone app in One UI 7.
— Khaled 🍉 (@TechKhaled_) October 4, 2024
Just added icons at the bottom (menus part) and Gallery having a seperate section for search (only shown in a later build).
Credits for Phone App: @chunvn8888 pic.twitter.com/6Wn5bA8NXq
17. Bixby with AI Support (Rumored)
Samsung is leaving no stone unturned in promoting its Galaxy AI features, which leads us to suspect that there is a possibility that we’ll see some version of Bixby with LLM capabilities. It could be an on-device AI model assisting with things like voice transcription, contextual replies, real-time translation, and call screening.
18. Dark Theme for App Icons (Rumored)
Another possible change that could be coming with One UI 7 is a dark theme for icons. This will be similar to what we have seen on iOS 18. Icons will take up a darker tone when you switch to the dark mode.
19. Vertical App Drawer (Rumored)
Samsung is also bringing a vertical app drawer with the next version of Samsung’s Android skin. However, it is only going to be available using a Good Lock module. This will be a typical vertically scrollable drawer with the search bar at the bottom making it one-hand friendly.
These are all the features we expect to roll out with the One UI 7 update. There is no doubt that this is shaping up to be a significant change to the UI, and there is a lot of hype around it. When the beta drops, we are surely going to be the first ones to cover the update, so if you want the latest coverage, then keep checking back.
What do you think about One UI 7.0 and is there a particular feature you are most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments below.
Anshuman Jain
