Samsung One UI 2 Beta Brings Changes To Galaxy Phones' Interface

Over the past year, Samsung has conducted a significant transformation on its smartphone with flagships like the Galaxy Fold as well as the Galaxy S10 series regarding both software and hardware.

The Korean giant has redesigned its user interface on phones, layered on top of the Android operating system to make it more intuitive and easier for use. In October, the company revealed its next software version, dubbed One UI 2. With the new update, Samsung phones, folding phones, tablets, and wearables will have smaller notification windows, dark mode for the home screen and lock screen, as well as better reachability and moving icons.

The idea behind One UI 2 is to minimize interruptions, helping users focus on their tasks on the device. For instance, if you are playing games or watching a video in full-screen mode, the notification window will be smaller than that of One UI. Previously, the notification displays the caller’s name, phone number, photo, along with the options decline and answer, but now it will only show the name of the caller as well as the icon for answering and declining.

With One UI, the screen was divided into an upper and lower area to view content and interacting with the app, respectively. That was aimed to help users navigate more easily on a big screen. However, One UI 2 adds more info to the viewing area for the in-use app. with Messages, for example, there will be a smaller line below the name of the app to show the number of unread messages.

Besides, Samsung has improved navigation with finers along with the amount of reaching required to handle the device. On One UI, each time you launch an app, the folder appears at the center of the screen, making it hard to reach its top part with your thumb. But on One UI 2, the folder will open in the screen’s lower part so you can navigate with one hand. Additionally, window pop-ups if the Android system will appear at the screen’s bottom rather than the center.

The One UI 2 icons have more vibrant, more saturated colors too. And there’s the “vivid moving icons” feature, where if you download a system update on the device, the gears in the icon for Settings will spin.

Night mode is now called dark mode turning backgrounds from white to black and text from black to white. More apps will get dark mode, including the home screen and lock screen. Besides, the phone will analyze the wallpaper to change the notification and text overlays. If your wallpaper is light-colored, the date and time will be black. The feature also works with dynamic images used on the lock screen.

One UI 2 is compatible with all current models of Galaxy devices and can work on different screen sizes. Currently, a One UI 2 beta is available fro the Galaxy Note 10, Galaxy Note 10 Plus and Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10 Plus, Galaxy S10 E depending on the carrier and location.