Packed with the best of Samsung’s foldable technology, the Galaxy Z Fold2 introduced a whole host of new smartphone experiences to users. Since December last year, users have been enjoying One UI 3 with Android 11 on the Galaxy Z Fold2. And now, following the release of One UI 3.1, the foldable experience is about to get even better.

Users can now multitask more efficiently on the Galaxy Z Fold2. In addition to simplifying everyday interactions on the device, the UX also provides a more natural visual experience. Read on to learn more about the exciting features on the device.

Multitasking Made Easy

On the Galaxy Z Fold2, users can now instantly return to up to three previously opened Multi-Active Windows on the Main Screen via the Recents tab. Users can also bring two Multi-Active Windows directly from the Main Screen to the Cover Screen via the Recents tab.

Need to reply to an urgent message while checking a document? The latest update allows users to launch Multi-Active Window directly from notifications in the Quick Panel. Just long press, drag and drop the relevant notification to open apps with Multi-Active Window.¹

Simplify Everyday Interactions

The latest update makes routine interactions on the Galaxy Z Fold2 easier and faster.

Users no longer need to reach for the power button to turn off the screen. By enabling the ‘Palm touch to turn off screen’ feature in settings, both the Cover and Main Screen can be put on standby with a touch of the palm or a double tap.

One UI 3 brings added flexibility to the Camera app. When shooting in Flex mode, the position of the controls can be adjusted for greater comfort. Following suggestions from users, Samsung also added a Delete and Share button to the preview window in Flex mode.

Notifications in the Quick Panel are now categorized, and you can switch between different media controls in the Quick Panel by swiping. The weather widgets on the Cover and Main Screen are also synced so users can get the same information, no matter how they use the phone.

Natural and Comfortable Visual Experiences 

The visual experience on Galaxy Z Fold2’s immersive Main Screen is even more comfortable. When making video calls in Flex mode, users can fill the top half of the display with the video of the person they are speaking to.

The updated Light and Dark themes bring extra depth to the overall visual experience on the Galaxy Z Fold2 while the redesigned vertical volume slider further minimizes clutter on the screen.

¹ This feature is only available with apps that support Multi-Active Window.

Unveiled in November 2018, One UI improved smartphone usability for millions of users. After two years of further evolution, Samsung launched One UI 3 in December 2020, building on the design, efficiency, and user experience of the original across various devices. Now Samsung is raising the bar yet again with One UI 3.1. From February 18^th, the latest One UI is bringing updates to support powerful functionality for some existing smartphones.¹

So what kind of experience can users enjoy with One UI 3? Samsung Newsroom sat down with the designers of One UI to ask them what we can expect.

The 4 Principles of One UI

1) Focus on the task at hand

2) Interact naturally

3) Be comfortable to view

4) Make things responsive

These four principles were established by One UI designers to give users the best experience possible.

Jeonggun Choi, Principal UX Designer in the Core UX Group, Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics

The fourth principle is a completely new principle introduced for One UI 3.1.

“From tablets to foldable phones and regular smartphones, the types of devices people are using have diversified, and the number of features and functions has also increased,” said Principal UX Designer Jeonggun Choi. “Following this trend, new principles were needed to provide the best layout for our users.” Whether an app is running on the Galaxy S21, Galaxy Tab, or the foldable Galaxy Z series, the UI is optimized for each device.

When using the Samsung Notes app on smartphones with regular sized displays, for example, users can access the app menu by pressing the navigation button at the top left side of the screen. But on the Galaxy Z Fold and Tab series, users can take advantage of the larger display by having the entire menu always in view, without having to press anything.

As part of the fourth principle, Samsung has also improved the accessibility experience by recommending features that complement the ones already in use. When someone with impaired or weakened vision has High contrast fonts turned on, for example, One UI suggests other features that improve visibility such as Bold font or Dark mode on the Recommended for you screen. One UI also reduces the hassle of having to sort through several menus by allowing users to turn off any accessibility features they are using from a single screen.

“Accessibility features are so diverse that it can often be difficult to use them to their full potential,” said Jeonggun Choi. “The ‘Recommended for you’ function increases convenience and helps users get more out of those features by identifying and recommending ones that users may need. We’ve also made it easy to use these features only when needed by allowing users to turn the features on and off while in use on one page.”

Galaxy Ecosystem Allows for Seamless Connectivity Between Devices

Another perk offered by One UI 3 is the ability to seamlessly switch between smartphones, tablets, and laptops. Taking into account the increased use of tablets and laptops spurred by a boom in remote learning and work, the new update provides a ‘connected device experience.’ This seamless ecosystem is paramount to enhancing study and work productivity.

“A new feature called ‘Continue apps on other devices’² has been added so that users can continue whatever they were doing on their smartphone – whether browsing a web page or working on a draft in Samsung Notes – on their tablet,” said Principal UX Designer Min-Young Chang. “Users can also copy text on their smartphone and paste it onto their tablet.”

In addition, users can connect their Book Cover Keyboard to both their tablet and smartphone with the Wireless keyboard sharing feature. The new Auto Switch feature also automatically connects Galaxy Buds to whichever device is playing media, so that users can seamlessly switch between their smartphones and tablets.

Connected device experiences are not only available with mobile devices, they are also available on home appliances such as TVs. Starting with One UI 3, users can use Smart View to enjoy multimedia content from their smartphone on their TV alongside the camera feed from their smartphone. This is especially beneficial for users who work out at home, allowing them to compare their movements with those of their virtual instructor.

“Starting with the One UI 3.1 update, users can cast their Google Duo video calls onto their TV with a few clicks,” said Jeonggun Choi. “With an increasing number of people connecting with their family via video calls and conducting virtual work meetings, this is an especially useful feature.”

A Customizable Galaxy Experience to Suit Your Needs

Smartphones are no longer just a tool that gives users the power to do various tasks—they’ve become a means of self-expression. Perhaps the best example is decorating the Galaxy Z Flip with stickers to create your own unique phone. But there are many ways to create a custom smartphone experience with the latest updates. “We have implemented a diverse array of features to let users use their smartphone as a form of self-expression,” said Jeonggun Choi. “Users can enjoy a customized Galaxy experience by choosing a video as the incoming and outgoing call screen or changing the wallpaper in the Messages app.”

Before (left) and after (right) views of the quick panel. The design has been simplified and the most commonly used icons have been placed to speed up the search process. Users can add other icons by clicking the ‘See more’ button in the top right corner.

“We first analyzed the usage for each feature available in previous models,” said Min-Young Chang. “After ranking the features based on their popularity, we placed the most used features at the top while hiding the least used features to simplify the panel.”

Saving Your Time, Even if it’s Only 1 Second

Min-Young Chang, Principal UX Designer in the UX Design 2 Group, Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics

Another updated feature available through One UI 3.1 is the integration of the Clock app with Digital Wellbeing’s Bedtime mode.³ After opening the Clock app, users can tap See More, then tap Set bedtime to set their sleep and wake-up times. Users no longer have to switch between two apps, making setting a daily sleep schedule easier and faster.

“Users might not be aware of all of the One UI design updates that have been made but these improvements combined help users recognize and react to various features quicker and in a more direct manner. Even if it saves 1 to 2 seconds of user’s time, I think it would have been worth the effort,” said Jeonggun Choi. “The One UI designers are going to continue coming up with designs that elevate our users’ happiness and satisfaction with Galaxy devices.”

¹ Features of One UI 3.1 may vary by device model. Updates may vary by carrier, country, and model.

² Both connected devices need to be running One UI 3.1 or above, have Bluetooth turned on, be signed into the same Samsung account and be connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

³ The feature allows users to change the background to grayscale and mute incoming notifications in order to help them sleep better.

With the latest One UI 3 software update, announced at the recent Galaxy Unpacked 2021 event, Galaxy Tab S7 and S7+ users can do even more with their tablets and enhance their connected experiences with the newly-launched Galaxy S21 series and Galaxy Buds Pro¹.

Share More Seamlessly Across Your Devices

You can now move across devices more seamlessly than ever before² –between your Galaxy Tab S7 or S7+ and Galaxy S21³ – as you can easily copy text or images on your smartphone and instantly paste the content onto your Tab S7 or S7+ – and vice versa.

You can also enjoy uninterrupted continuation of your Samsung Internet browsing and faster auto-sync of Samsung Notes across connected devices. This helps when you are browsing on your Galaxy S21, you want to continue what you are doing on a bigger display. After browsing a webpage on your Galaxy S21 device, click the ‘Recents’ button on your Galaxy Tab S7 or S7+. With a simple tap of the Samsung Internet icon on the menu’s bottom right, your most recently accessed page will load.⁴

Get More Done with a Second Screen

Sometimes when working or creating remotely, two screens are better than one. In order to easily extend your screen space, you can harness the Second screen feature to connect your Galaxy Tab S7 or S7+ with your laptop⁵ through a range of different modes. Extend mode lets you connect to your Windows PC and work across two different apps on each screen, while Duplicated mode lets you share the apps or documents you have open on your tablet directly to your laptop screen and instantly save any changes straight to your laptop.

Enjoy Your Streamlined Galaxy Ecosystem

In order to provide a more convenient keyboard experience across devices, you can now take advantage of the Wireless Keyboard Sharing⁶ feature, which allows you to connect your Book Cover Keyboard to your smartphone⁷ as well as your tablet device and effortlessly switch between the two⁸. You can also harness the Keyboard’s touchpad to control and manage your smartphone with the cursor as you would your tablet.

Earphone users will know the inconvenience of having to manually disconnect and reconnect their earphones when switching devices. This is where the Auto Switch functionality comes in, which allows you to enjoy media on your Galaxy Buds Pro across devices much quicker by automatically switching connections⁹. For example, if you get a call while you’re watching YouTube on your Tab S7 or S7+, your Galaxy Buds Pro will automatically switch to your smartphone. You can answer the call by tapping the Buds once or pressing the “Call” button on your smartphone.

¹ The new updates will be available for any Galaxy devices running One UI 3.1 or above.

² Continue apps on other devices is available on Galaxy smartphones and tablets running One UI 3.1 or above. Feature availability may vary by device model.

³ Galaxy smartphones and Tab S7 or S7+ must be signed into the same Samsung account and with Bluetooth settings on. The “Useful Features > Continue apps on other device” function of both devices must be on. The feature is available for devices located nearby within 2m but it may vary.

⁴ It supports the Samsung Notes app and Samsung Internet app with Galaxy smartphones and tablets that run One UI 3.1 or above. (Some models are not supported including but not limited to devices without Wi-Fi 5GHZ & SAK, and Android GO models)

⁵ WiDi(Wireless Display)-capable Windows 10 PC models and Windows 10 v.2004 or later are required for this feature. Compatible with Galaxy Book Flex2, Galaxy Book Flex2 5G, Galaxy Book Flex, Galaxy Book Flex alpha, Galaxy Book Ion2, Galaxy Book Ion, Galaxy Book S, Samsung Notebook Plus2, and Samsung Notebook Plus running Windows 10 OS.

⁶ Wireless Keyboard Sharing is available on Galaxy smartphones and Tab S7 and S7+, running One UI 3.1 or above. Not available on select smartphone models. The smartphone should support Bluetooth HID profile.

⁷ The feature only works with official Samsung Book Cover Keyboard.

⁸ To enable Wireless Keyboard Sharing, both devices must be logged into the same Samsung account. Performance may vary depending on user network environment.

⁹ The phone-to-tablet continuity is supported on Galaxy Buds Pro paired with Galaxy smartphones and tablets that run One UI 3.1 or above. Support for continuity features will come to Galaxy Buds+ and Galaxy Buds Live later. Your phone and tablet must be signed into the same Samsung account, and the “Automatically Switch to Other Devices” feature must be switched on for both devices. Support for continuity features may vary between smartphone models and apps. The overall performance of continuity features may vary depending on usage, network environment and distance.

Today, Samsung Electronics announced the official launch of One UI 3, the latest upgrade coming to select Galaxy devices, bringing an exciting new design, enhanced everyday features and deep customization. The upgrade will be available with Android 11 OS, reinforcing Samsung’s commitment to quickly provide the latest innovation to consumers, as part of the pledge to support three generations of operating systems (OS) upgrades for millions of devices¹.

Following the early access program, One UI 3 will begin to rollout today on Galaxy S20 series devices (Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra) in Korea, the US and most markets in Europe; the upgrade will gradually become available in more regions and on more devices, including the Galaxy Note20, Z Fold2, Z Flip, Note10, Fold and S10 series, in the coming weeks². The update will be available on Galaxy A devices in the first half of 2021.

“The launch of One UI 3 is just the beginning of our commitment to offering Galaxy consumers the best mobile experiences possible by giving them access to the latest OS innovation, as soon as it’s available,” said Dr. TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics. “One UI 3 represents an integral part of our mission to continually create new innovative and intuitive experiences for our consumers throughout their device lifecycle. So when you have a Galaxy device, you have a gateway to new, unimagined experiences for years to come.”

A New, Refreshed Design for an Improved Aesthetic Experience

The design upgrades in One UI 3 bring even more simplicity and elegance to the One UI experience that Galaxy users have come to enjoy.

Within the interface, features that you use and visit most – like the home screen, lock screen, notifications and Quick Panel – have been visually enhanced to highlight important information. New visual effects, such as the Dim/Blur effect for notifications, help you quickly focus on what matters most, and redesigned widgets keep your Home screen looking organized, clean and stylish.

One UI 3 doesn’t just look different – it feels different, too. Smoother motion effects and animation, combined with natural haptic feedback, make navigating and using your phone a joy. The Lock screen fade-out looks cleaner, toggles slide more smoothly under your fingers and button presses feel more realistic – every screen and every touch has been refined. Moving between devices flows more naturally, as One UI provides a singular, more holistic experience across the wider Galaxy ecosystem, with support for the new features³ available seamlessly across devices.

Enhanced Everyday Features to Help You Get More Done

One UI 3 is centered on providing everyday simplicity. One UI’s redesigned Lock screen widgets help you control your music, and see important information, like calendar events and routines, without having to unlock your device. Keeping track of messages and conversations is more intuitive, with messaging app notifications grouped front and center so you can quickly read and respond to your messages. The edge-to-edge full screen video call layout creates a new communication experience that brings you closer to the people who matter most.

With One UI 3, the camera on your device is even more powerful. Improved AI-based zoom on photos, and improved autofocus and auto-exposure help capture a great shot. Additionally, the organization categories in Gallery help you quickly find photos. Once you swipe up the screen while you are looking at a specific photo, you will see a related group of photos. To make sure none of these memories are lost, you can revert your edited photos to the original at any time, even after they’re saved.

Extended Customization for Your Phone, Your Way

We want users to have the freedom to customize their UI according to their preferences. Whether you’re constantly turning on Dark mode or sharing your Mobile Hotspot, you can now do so with a simple swipe and tap with new ways to customize your Quick Panel. You can also share images, videos or documents more easily than ever before. With the ability to customize your share sheet, you can “pin” your most-commonly used sharing destinations, whether it be a contact, messaging app or email. On top of that, One UI lets you maintain different profiles for your work and personal life⁴ so you can worry less about sending something to the wrong person.

The Quick panel has been refined between One UI 2 (left) and One UI 3 (right)

For further customization, you can place widgets on the Home screen and adjust the transparency so they better match your wallpaper or change the design and color of the clock on the Always On Display or your Lock screen. Plus, you can even add video to the incoming/outgoing call screen to make your call experience more personal.

One UI 3 has been built with the user in mind, including new digital wellbeing applications that help you identify and improve your digital habits. Quickly see usage information that shows your weekly changes in screen time or check your usage while driving to help you make informed decisions about how and when you use your Galaxy devices.

As Samsung continues to evolve the Galaxy experience, One UI will receive even more updates alongside the new flagship launches in early 2021.

For more information about One UI, please visit www.samsung.com/one-ui.

¹ Availability of Android OS upgrades and features may vary by device and market. Upgrade schedule will depend on factors including, but not limited to, model, network and more.

² One UI 3 is available for select devices and markets. The schedule for One UI upgrades is available in Notices on the Samsung Members App, which can be downloaded from the Galaxy Store.

³ New One UI 3.0 features will become supported on additional devices on a rolling basis.

⁴ Different profiles are available only when using Samsung Knox.