It seems that after postponing a couple of dates of releasing Samsung’s One UI 4.0 Beta testing program based on Android 12, finally, the company has announced it in several regions. Although the bets registration process starts today, the first slot of the program seems currently full. Interested Samsung Galaxy S21 series (Galaxy S21/S21+/S21 Ultra) users can join the beta testing program via the Samsung Galaxy Community or Samsung Members app.
Small partners who’ve successfully registered and enrolled for the beta testing program already received the One UI 4.0 Beta 1 build. However, there are a couple of bugs and errors appearing to the beta testers that have been reported on the Galaxy Community. Additionally, some apps aren’t available in the latest One Ul 4.0 Beta build that includes ICBC Financial e-Link, Tiantian Fund, Huaxia Bank, CITIC Securities, China Merchants Securities, Tickets, Corporate Mobile Banking, Golden Sun, WeBank, and Pacific Insurance, Huishang Bank, Yunnan Rural Credit, Guangxi Rural Credit, Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank, Personal Income Tax, 51job, Global Purchase Knight Privilege, ICBC e Life, Haidilao, Changsha Metro, Ehui Office, CNPC Hospitality e Station, Pocket High-Speed Rail, Beijing Bus, Shanghai Transportation Card, Jinan Metro, Master Key, Shanghai Mobile Heyou, ZArchiver, etc.
To join the beta testing program, Samsung Galaxy S21 series users can download and install the Samsung Galaxy Community app from the Samsung Galaxy Store app. Then open the app and click on Announcement then submit the OneUI Beta Program application form via “Sign up for One Ul Beta Program” in the Announcement. If you already have a Samsung account and you’re eligible for this beta testing program, complete the registration process, and within a few days, Samsung will notify you of the beta testing.
Also Read: Samsung One UI 4.0 will eliminate ‘Places’ feature from the phone app
One UI 4.0 Beta Changelog:
As per the update changelog, the One UI 4.0 Beta update brings plenty of features and improvements that we’ve mentioned below in a brief. For further details, you can visit the Samsung Developers webpage.
The Main Screen
- Redesigned the home screen widgets based on Android 12 dynamic widgets
Lock Screen
- From the locked screen, you can now change the audio output path like headphones or speakers.
- Customize the control method as per the music app you use.
- On the locked screen, the new voice recorder widget will help you record your voice without unlocking the device.
- A one-month calendar will be displayed in the calendar widget on the lock screen.
Screen Reminder
- Set the screen reminder to turn on when you receive a notification.
- New animated stickers can be used.
Shortcut Panel
- Manage your notifications more easily from the shortcut panel.
- The brightness bar in the shortcut panel is displayed larger than the previous version, allowing you to see the adjustment range more clearly.
Dark Mode
- Wallpapers and icons will now be automatically dimmed.
Charging
- A new visual effect will be displayed to check charging speed while charging.
Samsung Keyboard
- Emoticons, gifs, and stickers available directly on the Samsung keyboard with one button.
- Combine two emojis and add an animation so that you can fully express your feelings.
- Support downloading new animated stickers from the Samsung Keyboard.
- The new writing assistant provided by Grammarly (Supports English only right now) can help you keep your content free from grammatical and spelling errors.
Hint
- Enter the reminder application, a preview video will be played to help you understand everything that the Galaxy device can do.
Share
- Customize the application list on the sharing panel to avoid confusion of application sorting. Both the application list and the file recipient list can be scrolled left and right for faster access.
- Try sharing photos with poor results, you will get some repair suggestions.
Camera
- Enjoy a simpler and clearer layout and the preview interface only displays the information you need. If the light is low or you are scanning files, the scene optimization button will only be displayed in photo mode. The setting of night mode is now more intuitive.
- Lens zoom: To make zooming easier, you can check the zoom level on the lens icon.
- Never miss a video: Now after clicking the “Record” button, the recording will start immediately. In the “Photographing” mode, keep pressing the “Shooting” button to start recording. Drag your finger to the “lock” icon to continue recording.
- Single shot: Add extra time to the single-shot so you don’t miss important moments. After shooting, we improved the menu to help you easily choose the perfect picture.
- Professional mode: The design of the setting menu is more concise. When the gridline setting is turned on, the level indicator will help you adjust the lens and take a more perfect picture.
- Enhanced scanning function: After scanning the document, you can zoom in and zoom out, adjust and edit, and select the content you need. When scanning the QR code, you can select the options provided according to the type of the QR code.
Photo Album
- Open the story, a video preview will now be displayed with some highlight videos.
- Albums that contain a large number of photos have more options to sort efficiently.
- Find pictures and videos, we have improved the search suggestions.
- Recent content searches will also be used as recommendations.
- The adjusted photo can be restored to its original appearance, even after saving it, it can be restored.
Picture & Video Editor
- Add funny emoticons and stickers to your pictures and videos.
- Select multiple photos and videos from the album to create a video collage.
- The new light balance option allows you to edit the tone of the picture more easily.
- Restore the edited video to its original appearance, even after saving it.
- Faces, pets, buildings, or any other objects extracted from one photo can be pasted on another photo.
Dynamic Cute Shooting
- Use dynamic cute photos as avatars in contacts and Samsung accounts. You can choose from emoticons or create new emoticons yourself.
- New cute stickers will decorate your photos and share them with your friends.
- Use the pictures you draw to dress up your live photos.
Multitasking
- The options menu of the pop-up window is fixedly displayed at the top of the pop-up window, making it easier for you to perform selection operations.
- Easier to adjust the zoom effect of the pop-up window.
- When using the side-screen panel, the current application can still be viewed normally, removing the effect of the previous blurry display.
Set-Up
- The new “Safety and Emergency” menu can help you manage all emergency contacts and safety-related information under a fixed menu.
- The improved search function can find relevant settings when you need help. You will get suggestions for related functions based on the searched content.
Digital Health
- Monitor with the new driving detector to make sure your eyes are on the driving road. You will receive reports on the length of time you have used your phone and which applications have been used.
Clock
- The dual clock widget now displays different background colors, depending on whether the current time in each city is day or night.
Calendar
- The new calendar layout allows you to quickly add events. By improving the search function, you can find events more quickly.
- The new widget can display your monthly calendar and events of the day on the home screen.
- Create a shared calendar and invite other Galaxy users to join.
Information
- Photos, videos, weblinks and other content will be displayed in the search results of the information application.
My File
- The search function has been improved. Even if you make a character input error, you can still find the file you are looking for.
- The display area of recent files is now expanded to help you find the files you recently used more easily.
Samsung Browser
- When you enter text in the address bar, you will get more search suggestions. We redesigned the style of the result display.
- On the home screen, a new search widget can help you find what you are looking for.
- In order to protect your privacy, if you used the privacy mode during the previous browsing, the Samsung browser will automatically start in the privacy mode.
Samsung Dex
- Application compatibility has been improved so that more applications can be resized.
- Change the scroll direction of the touchpad in the DeX settings to match your personal preferences.
Smart Manager
- The main interface displays battery and safety issues, which is convenient and quick to solve the problem.
- The main interface will display an emoji to help you quickly understand the overall status of the phone.
Samsung Health
- At the bottom of the screen, the new tab layout can help you access the functions you need more quickly.
- The new “My Page” tab will display your personal information, weekly summary, micro chapters, and personal best.
- Your gender option can be set to “other” or “don’t want to say”
- It is now easier to invite friends to participate in team challenges by sending links.
- Some snack information has also been added to the food tracker.
Bixby Daily Routine
- You can now support more conditions in your daily routines. Start a routine during a call or when you receive a notification.
- The daily programs can set more content. There are more options for connecting and disconnecting Bluetooth devices.
- On the edit page, you can rearrange actions by dragging. Now also added advanced options, waiting and confirming the operation before starting the operation, and so on.
- We have removed some restrictions on conditions and action combinations, so you can do more things in your daily routines.
- You can use the photos in the camera or album to create custom icons for your daily routines.
Accessibility
- Move the mouse pointer to one of the four corners of the screen to perform operations faster.
- You can customize the display mode, set high contrast or large display mode.
- More visibility options can meet your needs. You can reduce the transparency and blur effect and you can also set the screen to be extremely dark.
- You can set a different color for each application, so you can easily determine the source of the notification.
- The magnification preview window has been merged with the new magnification menu, providing you with more options for magnifying the content on the screen
Privacy
- In the permission manager, you can check which applications are accessing sensitive permissions, such as location, camera, microphone, etc. You can deny access to any app that dislikes you
- When any application uses the camera or microphone, a green dot will appear in the upper right corner of the screen, so you can find out if any application is recording or recording you without your consent. You can also temporarily block all applications from using the shortcut panel control.
- Take more control over applications that want to access your location. For applications that only need to know your area, such as the weather application, you can allow the application to access your approximate location so that the application cannot obtain your exact location.
- When you need to copy sensitive information, such as passwords or credit card numbers, to avoid disclosure, you can choose to be notified when the current application is copied to the clipboard of another application.
- Some applications need to be updated separately after One Ul 4 is upgraded.
If you’re not sure how the beta build performs on your primary handset, then we’ll recommend you wait for the official stable release.
