One UI 4, Samsung’s new Android 12 overlay is being deployed on the Korean manufacturer’s most recent smartphones. Here’s everything you need to know to tame it.
Samsung has officially started the deployment of One UI 4.0, the new version of the OS of its smartphones, based on Android 12. For the time being, the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 + and Galaxy S21 Ultra are the first devices to be served. The Korean firm, however, plans to deploy One UI 4.0 on its other devices in the coming weeks.
On the program of novelties, One UI inaugurates, as on Android 12, Material You, the adaptive interface which adjusts the accent colors in accordance with those of the configured wallpaper. One UI 4 also thoroughly reviews the display and organization of widgets and offers them rounded corners.
The new Samsung OS interface also applies the dark theme to all icons, and introduces a new Picture-in-Picture mode that can be moved and resized as desired.
One UI 4 improves a host of interface elements, simplifies certain actions, including copy and paste which can be done using drag and drop, and introduces new handy tools for editing your photos. In the following lines, you will discover everything you need to know to get started with One UI 4.
Also to discover in video:
1. Customize the accent color
This is one of the great novelties of One UI 4. The Samsung overlay embraces Material You and thus adapts the accent colors with the colors of the configured wallpaper.
To customize them, open Settings and go to Wallpaper & Style. Then go to the Color Palette menu to select the Color Palette to apply to the interface elements of your smartphone.
Take the opportunity to activate the Applic option. App icons palette. so that the changes are reflected in the application icons of your smartphone as well. Press the Finish button to save your changes.
2. Fast video recording
With this new version of One UI, you can now quickly shoot a video without having to change the shooting mode.
To do this, open the Camera, keep your finger pressed on the shutter button (which changes from white to red), and slide it towards the padlock to start the video recording.
3. Check if the camera or microphone is active
New security options are appearing in One UI 4. Among these, you can now know when an application is accessing your smartphone’s camera or microphone. When this is the case, you should see a green dot in the upper right corner of the smartphone when the camera or microphone is in use.
You can then manage their access by the applications you use by deploying the quick access panel, then pressing the green icon. The app permissions menu should open for you to change.
4. Mix the emojis
If you are used to enriching your messages by adding emojis, One UI 4 should be of interest to you. Samsung has incorporated the possibility of using pairs of emojis to express mixed emotions. Several pairs of emojis are available natively, but it is also possible to create your own pairs of emojis.
To do this, below the input field of the Samsung keyboard, tap the icon with an animated emoji. This is the new button grouping together emojis, stickers and other animated GIFs. The keyboard should automatically suggest you Create your own emojis. Then press Try.
If not, swipe left on the toolbar and select the button with two emojis on it and press the + button.
Finally choose the two emojis you want to combine and press Next. Now select the animation to use for displaying your pair of emojis and hit send to insert them into your conversation.
Validate the sending of your pair of emojis by sending your message as you normally would.
5. Drag and drop to copy and paste
Samsung is changing copy and paste. Now you just have to select some text and then drag and drop it to the left or right of the screen to activate Slip Screen in order to paste it into a second application open on the other half of the screen. screen.
Note that this new use of copy and paste will be particularly useful on devices with a folding screen, such as the Galaxy Fold, Z Fold3 and Z Flip3.
6. Choose how to share your location
When using an app that requires access to your location, One UI 4 now lets you choose how to share your location. You now choose to share your exact location, or to protect your privacy, your approximate location.
This new setting completes the possibility of giving applications full (When using the application) or temporary (Only this time) authorization which already allowed to control access to your geographical position by installed applications.
7. Re-master your photos
With One UI 4, Samsung introduces several new features on the photo editing side. Open the Gallery on your smartphone and view a photo you just captured. Press the options button represented by three small dots at the bottom right, then choose to Remaster the photo.
After analyzing the image, One UI displays a Before / After interface. You can move the slider to view the preview before and after remastering the image. Samsung explains that this function makes it possible to “deflower” the image. If you are satisfied with the result, press the Save button to save a copy of your remastered photo.
8. Crop your photos
Among other new features introduced by One UI when it comes to image editing, you can now automatically crop the subject of an image with one gesture.
To do this, you must first have re-mastered the photo (see previous step). Once this is done, display the image on which you want to make a cropping and press the icon representing a pencil to enter edit mode.
In the toolbar, select the dotted circle displayed on the right, then draw the outline of the subject you want to keep.
Then press the Pin Shape button. Your subject now cropped is displayed on a black transparent background. Press Save. at the top right to record your cropped subject, then in the pop-up that appears, confirm again by pressing Save.
The cropped image is recorded over the original image. Don’t worry though, you can restore the image to its original state very easily if you need to.
To avoid “overwriting” the original image, press the options button, represented by three small dots, and choose to Save as a copy.
The image is saved in PNG format (with transparency management), and can then be used to make your photo montages.
9. Resize the Picture-in-Picture window
The display and use of remote videos (Picture-in-Picture) are evolving. With One UI 4, Samsung offers more flexibility in functionality. Indeed, videos played in a remote window can now be resized to take up more screen space while letting you go about your business.
10. Lower the minimum screen brightness even further.
If you use your smartphone in the dark by lowering the brightness as much as possible to preserve your eyes, One UI 4 allows you to go even beyond the minimum proposed.
To do this, open Settings and go to the Accessibility menu. Then enter Visibility enhancements, scroll down a bit in the list of proposed parameters and activate Additional attenuation.
In minimum brightness, activating this parameter should further reduce the screen brightness.