Samsung One UI 6 Beta Rolls Out for Galaxy S23: What’s New?

The latest version of Samsung’s custom Android layer, One UI 6, is now available in beta form for owners of the Galaxy S23 series.

One UI runs atop of Android on Samsung phones and you are most likely to interact with it in the camera app, on the lock screen, via notifications, or in settings, while multitasking, and more. If you participate in the One UI beta, you’ll be able to provide feedback directly to Samsung.

Be warned: Beta software is not the final version of the software, so use it at your own risk. We suggest trying out betas on spare devices and not your main daily driver phone.

Notifications gets some changes: One UI 5 (left) and One UI 6 Beta (right). (Credit: Samsung)

In the One UI 6 beta, you’ll find small changes to the notification area, like a new default font and notifications in a separate, rounded rectangle. The Quick Panel—which houses shortcuts for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and more—now features brightness settings by default. (One UI 5 required you to edit the layout to have the brightness control show up all the time.)

Taking a page out of the Apple iOS playbook, One UI 6 lets you swipe from the top right of the screen for a fuller view of the Quick Panel along with access to more settings—but only if you turn on the Quick Panel instant access setting.

The lock screen becomes more versatile with the option to set different lock screens depending on your Modes and Routines. Plus, a new camera widget gives you control of where photos are stored and lets you preset a camera mode. For example, activating the camera widget could open up the app in video mode and those videos will be saved in whatever folder you select.

The One UI 6 beta is open now for the Galaxy S23, S23+, and S23 Ultra in Germany, the US, and South Korea. Samsung hasn’t yet announced a launch date for the final version of One UI 6.