Most Android phones offer a two-step notification tray. Swiping down on the homescreen reveals your notifications and a handful of customizable shortcuts. A second swipe would pull up the full Quick Settings grid with the option to organize the buttons. The number of shortcuts you see at either step varies depending on the maker, but they all follow the same system. Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones have historically shown six shortcuts in the first step. But with One UI 5.0, the company has reduced it to five. First spotted by 9to5Google, this redesign appears weirdly over-spaced and unaligned. Of course, one less shortcut button means the Quick Settings panel also becomes less quick. The 4×3 grid that appears on the second swipe remains unchanged, though. It’s unclear if the change is permanent or if Samsung plans to revert to the original layout later. We hope it keeps the six-button Quick Settings panel. We shall find out as the company rolls out more One UI 5.0 beta builds to Galaxy S22 users. In its official announcement, Samsung stated that the One UI 5.0 beta for the Galaxy S22 series will be available to users in Germany, South Korea, and the US. But judging by past beta programs, the One UI 5.0 beta will likely open up in India, Poland, China, and the UK as well. Of course, we don’t have any official confirmation on that yet. We will let you know if we hear anything.
One UI 5.0 beta will expand to more Galaxy smartphones
Samsung beginning the One UI 5.0 beta testing with the Galaxy S22 series isn’t surprising. The company usually releases a new Android version to its latest foldables first. But it shouldn’t be long before the beta program opens up to other Galaxy smartphones. The likes of the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S20, Galaxy Z Fold 3, Galaxy Z Flip 3, Galaxy Note 20, and Galaxy Z Fold 2 should all get One UI 5.0 beta in the coming weeks. The beta program likely won’t cover Samsung’s Galaxy A and Galaxy M series mid-rangers. However, a lot of those phones will get the Android 13 update, complete with One UI 5.0. The stable update will start rolling out later this year, with the Galaxy S22 series once again leading the race. We will keep you posted.
