Samsung has scheduled its first Unpacked event of 2023 for this week to showcase its new high-end Galaxy S23 smartphones and other news. Software is just as important as hardware, and the company will release a new version of its own Samsung One UI 5.1 interface.

Although this is a minor update of what we saw in One UI 5, the new version of the top user layer that Samsung has developed based on Android 13 will have interesting news. And it won’t be limited to just the Galaxy S23, but will extend to – at least – the following models:

• Galaxy S22
• Galaxy S21
• Galaxy Z Fold 3
• Galaxy Z Fold 4
• Galaxy Z Flip 3
• Galaxy Z Flip 4
• Galaxy A53
• Galaxy S20
• note 20
• Galaxy Tab tablets from version 6
• A dozen selected models from the ‘A’ and ‘M’ series

Samsung One UI 5.1: news

Once the innovations developed by Google for the regular version of Android 13 and others from Samsung are implemented, such as the renewal of the entire visual section; more lock screen customization features; more themes for the cover screen of the foldable Galaxy Z Flip series; Samsung Wallet for mobile payments and cards or improvements in multitasking and in the camera system, the manufacturer is committed to functional improvements and those small changes that are ultimately very useful when handling your mobile phone. Let’s summarize what we expect from this release:

Gallery

• joint family album. With the new album, sharing photos with your family will be easier than ever. The app will recommend photos to add to your family album by recognizing the faces of your family members. Samsung will offer 5 GB of storage per family member (up to 6 people).
• Improved handling. Processing automatically removes shadows and reflections so photos look their best. You can also recreate the GIF for better resolution and clarity.
• information screen. If you swipe up while viewing a photo or video in Gallery, you’ll be able to see at a glance when and where the photo was taken, what device it’s on, where it’s stored, and more.
• search. You can now search for more than one person or item at a time. You can even search for people without tagging them by name, just by clicking on their faces.
• Choosing a place. You can now save screenshots and screen recordings to a folder of your choice by setting in advanced features.

Widgets

• New battery widget. From the home screen, we can see how much battery capacity the smartphone has left, as well as the autonomy of other devices, such as the Galaxy Buds and the Galaxy Watch.
• Intuitive weather widget. A new illustration style and summary of current weather conditions make it easier to view weather forecast information.

cameras

• Changing the tone of a selfie will be easier, with effects available on the side of the screen.
• Quick access to Expert RAW, allowing high-quality images to be captured without any type of processing or compression for those who want to edit their images later. It is accessed from the extended menu.

AR-Zone and AR-Emoji

• Use 3 emoticons in the AR Emoji camera. Take fun photos and videos with friends (up to 3 people) in mask mode. You can replace your friends’ faces with other characters by clicking on emoticons.
• Improvements in AR Doodles. Brushes are now available on the feature’s main screen for faster access. You can also resize and move drawings after they are created, while the new eraser tool allows you to erase only part of the drawings.

modes and scenarios

• various wallpapers according to the mode. Set different lock screen and home screen wallpapers according to your activities. You can choose a background for work, one for sports and more by setting different modes.
• More conditions and actions for scenarios. Run scripts automatically when you turn on airplane mode or mobile hotspot. Scripts can now open some apps, control quick sharing and touch sensitivity, as well as change the ringtone and font style.

Connectivity and productivity

• Collaboration in Samsung Notes. Create a shared note that multiple people can edit at the same time. Write a report with colleagues, take notes for a study group, or draw a picture with a friend. The possibilities are endless.
• Improved multitasking in DeX. In split-screen mode, you can now drag the divider in the middle of the screen to resize both windows. You can also snap the window to one of the corners so that it takes up a quarter of the screen.
• Invitations to shared applications. You can now easily invite third-party access to shared albums, notes, and calendars using a share link in apps like Messages, email, and social media.
• Control between Galaxy Book and your smartphone. Now you can use the mouse, keyboard or trackpad of the Galaxy Book not only with the Galaxy Tab, but also with the Galaxy smartphone. You can easily copy and paste text and drag and drop images from one device to another as if it were the same device.
• Multimedia output for Wi-Fi speakers. If you want to continue listening to music on Wi-Fi speakers via Spotify Connect and Chromecast built-in, simply open the media outlet from the Quick Access toolbar, not from the music apps.
• Continue browsing on your computer. If you browse the Internet on your smartphone using Samsung Internet and then continue browsing on your computer, you can find the web pages you opened and continue searching for them using your computer’s browser.

And more

• Setup wizard. Initial configuration of your new Galaxy phone will be faster and easier. If you switch to a new phone from a Galaxy device or another Android device, simply scan the QR code on your old device and your Wi-Fi networks, Samsung account, and Google account will be automatically migrated to the new device.
• Improved search in the browser. You can now search by folder name in tabs or by group name in tabs.
• Settings. Settings tips now appear at the top of the settings screen to inform you of useful features you can try or settings that need your attention to enable or test right away.
• Weather. Weather information will be more detailed and can be seen at a glance on the main screen of the Weather app. You can check weather alerts, daily weather reports, hourly precipitation and color temperature charts.
• Bixby text calls. You can use the function Bixby text calls automatically receive calls and find out the purpose of the call. You’ll see what the caller is saying in the text chat, and you can tap or type responses to read them out loud to the caller. They will only be available in English and Korean at this time.

Samsung One UI 5.1 will be released on the Galaxy S23, which will be unveiled on February 1, and will be rolled out to compatible phones in the coming weeks.