After months of waiting, Samsung finally released its Android 12 beta in the form of One UI 4 beta. This latest version of Samsung’s Android skin doesn’t see much changes compared to last year’s One UI 3.
However, beta can be installed on selected Galaxy devices with the Samsung member app.
Surprisingly, in line with Android 12, the One UI 4 is focused on customizing its key changes. There are some very comprehensive updates to privacy and device care, but for the most part, these changes are small on the board.
We’ve put together all the most notable changes to the One UI 4 so you know what to expect when it comes to a stable system. Keep in mind that we will not include all the new features of Android 12, as those are not specified in the One UI.
To find out more about what you can expect from Android 12 directly, check out the link below.The most noticeable change in One UI 4 is the annual customization options for the home screen and lock.
Starting with the home screen, the widgets are updated with a new and refreshing look that comes with Android 12’s Material You redesign.
Widgets are flattering with a circular look, and some widgets, such as a dual clock, will now switch from light to dark mode depending on the time of day.
Unlike Material You, these widgets will not match their color background, but who knows, that could be the change we see next.
Speaking of black mode, Samsung has made some subtle changes here to get seamless information. Thumbnails, wallpapers, and some text fields are now slightly dim when in black mode.
Personally, I am not a big fan of this change. As a result, I would turn on the light when I was in dark mode.
I understand why Samsung has made this change to make the information a little easier on the eyes, but I still prefer the old black mode to the One UI 3.
On the lock screen, you can now set the voice recorder as a quick access option. Also, media controls now see media switch options. This change is not only on the lock screen but also on the notification shade as well.
One UI gets some minor updates to the default display; in particular, users can now set it to come with notifications only.
Additionally, there are a few updates to AOD customization options that include some new animating stickers, as well as new themes in the Galaxy Store.
Notifications
sung focused more on the One UI 3 notifications; however, this year, there are not many changes. Notifications are slightly shortened, and the background in light and dark mode is less clear.
Quick settings tiles look almost identical to the One UI 3 but slightly lower. The light slider is now large enough to be easily accessible while holding devices with one hand.
Other than that, there are no major changes in the way notifications are handled, and they remain true to Samsung’s architectural language instead of Material You for Android 12.
Samsung has added a few other features to the keyboard, especially additional stickers and animated emoji, which can now be quickly accessed with a single tap on the keyboard.
There is now support for more third-party integration; in particular, Grammarly can now be combined to help with spelling errors.
And Samsung is really pressing cartoon emoji, which I would admit is cool, but I would love to see more improvements in other OS areas.
The share menu finally receives an update that allows users to customize the order in which the sharing options appear in the menu.
This helps in a wonderful way and is a great way to clean up that panel. I’m glad to see that this is ultimately an addition to the One UI.
Privacy changes
Along with Android 12’s focus on privacy, One UI 4 now gets an improved privacy dashboard with the ability to scan at a glance which apps use which permissions over the past seven days.
There is an option to display access board, microphone, and camera access to all apps, instead of app by app.
Also, camera and mic indicators will now appear in the status bar when a specific application reaches one or more of them. Clicking on them will reveal more details about when and when to use them.
Lastly, there is an additional “Android Compute Core” setting for Android 12, which lets you erase your learned device data and close intelligent responses and paste suggestions from the keyboard.
Camera
Samsung has made some minor changes to the camera app, but overall it looks clean. Instead of tree icons showing zoom options, Samsung has switched to real numbers, a change that will allow you to determine which lens you are using.
The shutter capture option to start video recording still exists, but you can now grab and swipe to lock the record button.
Also, the event optimizer icon no longer appears in all lighting fields but manifests itself in low light or landscape conditions. Lastly, the pro camera mode settings are slightly redesigned to provide a cleaner representation, and the grid lines are automatically opened.
Features of UI 4.0 one: Mixed items
And this update is small compared to the overall Android 12 update. There are a few more updates we’ve seen:
One UI 4 gets a new charging animation. They look clean and give a modern feel compared to the One UI 3 photos.
Photo and Images and many windows make sports circular corners instead of square.
Device Care includes a new “Protect battery” option that allows users to limit up to 85% in an effort to save long-term battery life.AR emoji can be set as contact images.
Samsung Good Lock now supports external token packages that can be downloaded through the Google Play store.
