Android 11 was released to Google Pixel devices earlier this month, but it will be a while before the update rolls out to other brands. Samsung, of course, is hard at work behind the scenes to bring Android 11 to some of its latest devices, and now, we can take a look at what’s coming. Here’s a quick look at what the first beta of OneUI 3.0 looks like.
In case you didn’t know, Samsung is hosting a closed beta so that developers can test their apps on the company’s Android 11 version. Thanks to a hack in the Samsung Members app, we were able to get this to run on a Galaxy S20 +, but right away, let’s clear things up. Don’t try this yourself. The beta version is very unstable and we have already encountered several problems. Just wait for a public beta, it’s coming very soon!
So what’s new in OneUI 3.0? This first beta version has some changes, starting with some adjustments to the user interface. In this update, Samsung has a clear focus on cleaning your skin and making things feel more natural. One of the first places that is obvious is on the lock screen. You will notice that the clock is now larger and more centered, attracting your attention more effectively. The icon colors are now consistent as well, and you may notice that the fingerprint sensor icon has changed.
Moving on to the home screen, many of those changes continue. Samsung’s weather widget, for example, is now centered on the screen, which immediately makes the layout fit a bit better. Another nice touch is the background color of the folders which now matches the light or dark themes.
Samsung is also adding some more translucent elements to its UI on Android 11. Notifications, for example, now allow background elements to show up a bit, and the background as a whole has a nice Gaussian blur. Behind the multitasking screen this effect is also applied. Everything looks better in dark mode, if you ask me.
Speaking of dark mode, it seems like the quick setting change for that feature has been removed in OneUI 3.0.
To complete the changes to the user interface, Samsung has also modified its animations in OneUI 3.0. They’re a bit faster, a bit cleaner, and thanks to the 120Hz refresh rate, they feel very soft. We’ve captured a couple of the new animations in the footage below, but the GIFs just don’t do them justice.
In terms of feature additions, Android 11’s notification settings are definitely here on Samsung OneUI 3.0. That includes the section “Conversations”. There are bubbles around, but they are buried in the settings menu. Fortunately, they are still on by default for supported apps. However, on the same note, there is another main feature of Android 11 that does not appear in the first beta version of OneUI 3.0: the controls of the power menu. By default, Bixby still opens, and even diving into settings, there’s still no way to activate the power menu controls that are so handy on Pixels.
However, the new Android 11 multimedia card is present in this build. However, it is also super buggy when multiple apps are playing. I have also noticed that the search bar is not updating.
Samsung also made some adjustments to its own functions. There’s a new high-level shortcut to Android Auto in Samsung’s settings menu, for example. Another more important addition is wireless DeX support. That feature was first available on the Galaxy Note 20 series. Notifications also now have a pop-up feature. “brief” and “detailed”. “Detailed” is typical Android behavior, while “brief” It has a smaller design that also includes edge lighting and works when the screen is off.
Another small change in Samsung’s Android 11 build is the adoption of the vertical volume slider. It now more closely resembles the current Android layout while retaining an expandable menu for media, ringer, and other volume sliders.
Beyond these major changes, Samsung has updated a few other elements of the user interface. The battery screen, for example, no longer hides usage data on a second screen. Now you can set a custom call wallpaper. Now you can double-tap the home screen to turn off the screen. There are a lot of other little changes like that, many of which the people of XDA they have been broken down in detail.
Sure, the final versions of Android 11 for Samsung devices will change a lot more, but this first beta version gives us a good idea of what the company is working towards.
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