3 things I love about the One UI 8 beta, and one thing I hate

Once I awoke yesterday morning, I didn’t count on the One UI 8 beta to be waiting for me on my Galaxy S25. But, that’s exactly what occurred. So, with my espresso in a single hand and my S25 within the different, I spent my Wednesday morning downloading Samsung’s newest beta software program.

One UI 8 isn’t almost as drastic an replace as One UI 7 is, however that’s to not say there aren’t any vital new options. Within the 24 hours I’ve been utilizing the beta, I’ve discovered a handful of fairly improbable adjustments.

Right here are some things I like in regards to the One UI 8 beta, plus one factor I hate.

For sure, my primary favourite new characteristic within the One UI 8 beta is the new 90:10 split screen option for multitasking. That is technically an Android 16 characteristic fairly than one thing particular to One UI 8, however because it isn’t current within the Android 16 QPR1 beta, it’s the primary time we’ve had hands-on expertise with it.

One UI 7 already gives a number of freedom for a way you wish to break up two apps you’re operating concurrently, although the furthest you may go is a 70:30 break up. It’s not horrible, however it may possibly nonetheless make some apps really feel squished and troublesome to navigate.

With the brand new 90:10 possibility in One UI 8, now you can run considered one of your apps in a principally full-screen view, whereas your different app is hidden as a small sliver on the high or backside of the display — and you’ll rapidly change that app to the full-screen view simply by tapping on it.

That is just about an identical to how Open Canvas works on OnePlus telephones, and I couldn’t be happier with it. Now, I can use one app with out compromising its UI whereas nonetheless having one other utility only a faucet away. It’s far and away my favourite manner to make use of split-screen multitasking on Android, and I’m thrilled to now have it on Samsung telephones with One UI 8.

For the previous few months, Google Duties has been my go-to reminder and to-do checklist app. I don’t see that altering any time quickly, however the brand new Samsung Reminder app in One UI 8 is tempting me.

Samsung has fully overhauled the app’s homepage, with essentially the most vital change being the addition of recent classes on the high. Beforehand, One UI 7 confirmed your customized reminder classes on the high, whereas classes like At this time, Scheduled, Vital, and Place had been tucked away in a aspect menu. Now, all of these are entrance and heart on the high of the Reminder app, permitting you to instantly see what number of reminders are in every of these classes.

The UI for including a brand new reminder is healthier, too. There are extra reminder choices, including a time to a reminder is far less complicated, and the situation UI can be improved. Moreover, in case you use the Samsung Calendar app, now you can create a brand new reminder from there. It’s a number of smaller tweaks, however I believe all of them come collectively to make Samsung Reminder a much more pleasant expertise than it was once.

As somebody who doesn’t dwell that deep within the Samsung ecosystem, the broader availability of Google Duties will possible hold me there in the intervening time. Nonetheless, this can be a substantial replace on Samsung’s half, and I hope it motivates Google to present Duties comparable consideration.

This can be a comparatively minor change in comparison with the multitasking and Reminder updates, nevertheless it’s nonetheless one which I respect. In case you’re operating the One UI 8 beta and share one thing by way of Fast Share, you’ll discover that there’s now a totally new interface.

In One UI 7, tapping the Fast Share toggle from the fast settings merely displayed a pop-up menu so that you can change who can share recordsdata with you. Nevertheless, in One UI 8, tapping the identical Fast Share toggle now takes you to a model new interface that’s break up into devoted Obtain and Ship pages. Moreover, from the Ship web page, you may choose recordsdata you wish to share proper there, fairly than having to take action by way of Android’s common sharing menu.

The tech behind Fast Share is nice, however its user-facing presence on Android has all the time felt severely missing. This can be a huge step in the suitable course, and I actually suppose it’ll get me to make use of Fast Share extra usually.

That is one thing we count on all Android telephones to ultimately get, however if you wish to attempt it now, you’ll solely discover it within the One UI 8 beta.

In my restricted time with the One UI 8 beta, I haven’t discovered something outright damaged or a change that’s been made for the more severe. If something, it feels rather a lot like One UI 7, simply with some further options and a bit of additional polish.

If that’s the case, what’s it about One UI 8 that I hate? It’s what’s not right here.

One of many greatest adjustments in Android 16 is Google’s new Materials 3 Expressive design. Having played with it in the Android 16 QPR1 Beta, I’m thrilled with the way it’s coming alongside. It makes Android really feel alive and responsive in a manner Google has been working towards since Android 12, however that imaginative and prescient feels prefer it’s lastly 100% realized in Android 16.

Whether or not it’s the beautiful animations with notification playing cards or the latest apps web page, the beautiful blurred UI components, or the improved haptic suggestions all through the interface, none of these components from Android 16 QPR1 are current in One UI 8. And in case you ask me, One UI 8 isn’t almost as pleasant due to it.

To be clear, none of that is shocking. Samsung has its personal distinct software program identification with One UI, and we knew the corporate wouldn’t ditch it in favor of what Google has cooked up with Materials 3 Expressive. Nonetheless, now that I’ve skilled how good Google’s new design language is, I sorely miss not having it in One UI 8.

Sizzling on the heels of an replace as revolutionary as One UI 7, I can see some individuals taking a look at One UI 8 and discovering it a bit boring. However that was all the time going to be the case. Samsung was by no means going to present us two back-to-back updates on that scale. As an alternative, One UI 8 is an evolution of what Samsung began with One UI 7, and in case you ask me, it’s (virtually) all the things this replace ought to be.

Wouldn’t it be even higher with Materials 3 Expressive? Completely. However even with out that, I’m completely satisfied to see the place Samsung is headed with One UI 8.