9to5Google
By Andrew Romero & Max Weinbach
We managed to get our hands on an early beta of One UI 5. Unfortunately, that means there's no changelog available and everything new we've seen has been gleaned from direct comparisons to One UI 4.
Notification design has been slightly tweaked between One UI 4 and One UI 5. Notifications get new icons as well as an updated design style.
Notification design
Android permission dialogs
Samsung seems to be switching directions a little bit with how permission dialogs appear. Similar to Google's version, the new dialog box appears in the center. Whether this is to save time by not changing this aspect of Android 13, we don't know.
OCR in Gallery and character insertion from keyboard
Two huge features to be added to One UI 5 are OCR (optical character recognition) and the ability to insert text from an image directly in the keyboard. While originally a Bixby feature, OCR is now available from the Gallery app.
Security and privacy hub
In Android 13, Google updated a new section of the settings that focused on privacy and security, bringing together all the security needs of the user. Samsung has created its own version in One UI 5 to hold your accounts, passwords, and other security aspects in one place. While these were accessible in One UI 4, the hub is a new location for these features.
Multitasking gestures
In Labs, there are now two options for multitasking. Now, users can swipe up from the bottom of the screen with two fingers to access split view. Additionally, you can also swipe in from the top corner to create a pop-up window.
We're looking forward to the beta release of One UI 5 in the coming weeks and months and all the features that come with it. Be sure to keep up-to-date with 9to5Google and all the One UI 5 news to come.