Samsung revamped its Android pores and skin from the bottom up with One UI 7, enhancing virtually each nook and cranny. The slick animations, new customization choices, revamped Fast Settings panel, and new system icons ship a extra polished expertise on Samsung units.
Nevertheless, there are a number of regressions in One UI 7. Samsung eliminated sure options or altered their performance in ways in which make them much less helpful.
Now not customizable
Left: Widget transparency setting in One UI 6, Proper: One UI 7
For the longest time, Samsung allowed customers to regulate the transparency of its first-party widgets, providing better flexibility and artistic freedom in dwelling display screen customization. Nevertheless, with One UI 7, Samsung quietly eliminated transparency management from most of its app widgets.
Some, just like the battery widget, nonetheless provide a transparency possibility. Nevertheless, you’ll be able to solely choose from one of many three pre-specified ranges. You’ll be able to’t manually set the transparency to the extent you need. Even with the extra customizable Dwelling Up Good Lock module, you’ll be able to’t restore transparency controls for widgets in One UI 7.
5
Lacking assist for third-party Edge Panels
Bid farewell to your paid panels
Edge Panels sound nice on paper however provide little real-world worth in follow. Samsung ships its telephones with a number of Edge Panels pre-installed, with the choice to obtain extra from the Galaxy Retailer.
Whereas the characteristic is accessible in One UI 7, Samsung appears to have dropped assist for third-party Edge Panels. There isn’t any possibility within the firm’s Android 15 pores and skin to obtain them from the Galaxy Retailer. You’re restricted to the pre-installed choices.
When you improve your Galaxy telephone from One UI 6.1 to One UI 7, your beforehand downloaded Edge Panels are nonetheless out there. When you arrange the telephone operating One UI 7 from scratch, you are out of luck.
I’ve used a number of flagship Galaxy telephones in the previous couple of years and have hardly used Edge Panels regardless of taking the effort and time to customise them. Samsung dropping assist for third-party panels would not hassle me a lot. If there is a panel you want, you’ll be able to’t use it in One UI 7.
You win some, you lose some
In One UI 6.1 and earlier variations, you can select from a restricted choice of widgets so as to add to the lock display screen. One UI 7 expands this checklist, although there is a huge catch. Beforehand, tapping the lock display screen clock revealed full-screen widgets. That is not the case in One UI 7, as Samsung changed the full-sized widgets with mini widgets.
The implementation is just like the iPhone’s lock display screen widgets, with pill-shaped components that stay seen always.
Whereas many customers want the brand new mini-widgets and the expanded choices, eradicating full-screen widgets leads to a noticeable lack of performance. I might beforehand see the upcoming alarms by tapping on the lock display screen clock. That is now not potential with the mini-sized widgets.
3
Triggering Gemini by swiping from the show’s nook
Samsung desires you to make use of the aspect key as a substitute
On most Android telephones, you’ll be able to set off Google Assistant or Gemini by swiping diagonally from the nook of the show. One other handy possibility is to lengthy press the facility or aspect key, although it is solely out there on choose newer units.
With One UI 7, Samsung added the choice to set off Gemini by lengthy urgent the aspect key on its flagship units. Nevertheless, it eliminated the flexibility to deliver up the voice assistant with a diagonal swipe from the nook of the display screen. As a substitute, this gesture brings up the latest apps display screen. There isn’t any technique to restore the unique performance, even for those who use the Dwelling Up Good Lock module.
I hardly ever used the aspect gesture to launch Google Assistant or Gemini, so I will not miss its elimination in One UI 7. When you relied on it commonly, there’s not a lot you are able to do about its absence. Your solely possibility is to customise the lengthy press of the aspect button to invoke Gemini.
2
Solely three icons within the standing bar
A irritating restriction
Samsung revamped the standing bar in One UI 7 to create space for the Now Bar within the upper-left nook. A aspect impact of this transformation is that Samsung Galaxy telephones operating One UI 7 can solely show three icons within the standing bar.
There isn’t any workaround to this limitation, and even for those who dismiss the Now Bar notification, the standing bar solely reveals three icons. If there are greater than three, it denotes them with a dot.
This was the default habits in One 6.1.1 and older builds. You needed to bounce into the Settings menu and alter an choice to show greater than three icons within the standing bar. However at the very least you had an possibility.
That is not it, although. Samsung additionally eliminated the Bluetooth, VoLTE, and alarm icons from the standing bar. They’re now solely seen while you increase the notification shade. The Bluetooth icon doesn’t seem even when the telephone is related to a tool.
Associated
6 hidden One UI 7 options you most likely missed
Samsung has paid consideration to the little issues
1
Lock display screen notifications
Samsung strikes all the pieces to the standing bar
One UI 7 makes lock display screen notifications much less helpful by eradicating assist for unread notification icons from the widget space beneath the clock. In One UI 6.1.1 and older releases, Samsung displayed unread notification icons on the lock display screen and All the time-On Show.
This made it straightforward to inform for those who had new notifications by trying on the display screen. That comfort is lacking in how lock display screen notifications work in One UI 7.
Unread icons solely seem within the standing bar within the upper-left nook. They now not present up within the widget space beneath the clock.
Making issues worse is One UI 7’s limitation of solely displaying three icons within the standing bar. You probably have extra notifications, they’re denoted by a dot. You need to increase the notification panel to get extra data. The change makes the All the time-On Show display screen pointless, as you’ll be able to now not have a look at the show to verify for brand spanking new unread notifications.
This lock display screen notification change solely impacts you for those who use the Icons-style lock display screen notification.
The Playing cards-style notification structure works virtually like earlier than. It now reveals 4 notification playing cards, with icons for different unread notifications grouped beneath it. You need to faucet the icon to increase and examine all notifications. Like earlier than, you’ll be able to’t scroll by way of lock display screen notifications.
One UI 8 ought to repair these One UI 7 regressions
With Android 16 releasing a number of months sooner than ordinary, Samsung is working exhausting on One UI 8. Early leaks recommend it might not be a giant improve, and it doesn’t need to be, even with One UI’s flaws. As a substitute, Samsung ought to deal with these annoyances and restore the eliminated options with the following replace to its Android pores and skin.
The change in lock display screen notification habits is particularly irritating, because it makes the lock display screen and All the time-On Show practically ineffective for rapidly glancing at unread notifications. Maybe in One UI 8, Samsung will combine lock display screen notifications and the Now Bar extra cohesively to ship a greater expertise.