Everything about Samsung One UI version 6.1

Introduction

The beginning of every year is exciting for Samsung fans, as the company launches a new Galaxy S flagship smartphone every 12 months or so. In addition to hardware upgrades, each Galaxy S flagship comes with a minor new version of One UI. With the Galaxy S24 series, Samsung introduces One UI 6.1, which boasts some impressive new AI features.

One UI 6.1 design

One UI's minor version updates don't usually bring a lot of changes to the user interface design, and the same is true for One UI 6.1. The new version has a similar look and feel to One UI 6.0. However, One UI 6.1 brings a couple of striking visual changes, mainly in terms of the lock screen and Always On Display. The two are now well-integrated, and the lock screen wallpaper and widgets make their way to the Always On Display.

With One UI 6.1, Samsung makes other small improvements here and there to further bolster the ease of use. For one, Nearby Share melded into Quick Share.

To streamline the experience, Samsung's navigation gestures are removed, and users can only choose between traditional navigation buttons and Android's navigation gestures. The latter navigation method is arguably superior to Samsung's.

One UI 6.1 animations are also smoother and blend together more pleasantly, particularly when minimizing-maximizing apps and when transitioning from the Always On Display to the lock screen to the home screen.

One UI 6.1 features

One UI 6.1 has a heavy focus on AI features, and the Galaxy S24 series is the first in Samsung's push for the Galaxy AI experience. The AI functionality includes features such as:

• Circle to Search.
• Interpreter.
• Live translation in phone calls.
• Chat Assist powered by AI and LLM.
• Powerful spelling and grammar checking powered by AI.
• Auto Summary for Samsung Notes, Internet, and Voice Recorder apps – once again powered by Google's LLM (Large Language Model).
• Transcriptions in the Voice Recorder app.
• Summarize and Auto Formatting in Samsung Notes.
• Generative Edit in Gallery.
• Instant slow-mo playback for videos in Gallery.
• Super HDR photo viewing in Gallery.
• Generative Wallpapers.
• Dual Recording can now be used for two rear cameras simultaneously.
• Adaptive Color Tone for display color and white level adjustments based on environmental lighting.

One UI 6.1 release

Version 6.1 of One UI debuted in January 2024 on the Galaxy S24 series, but upon release, Samsung didn't clarify when older existing Galaxy smartphones and tablets should receive it.