Beginning today, One UI 3.1.1 is no longer exclusive to the latest Samsung foldable phones — the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3. The company is now rolling out the One UI 3.1.1 firmware update to every one of its previously-released foldable devices, including the original Galaxy Fold.
Samsung designed One UI 3.1.1 to improve the user experience for foldable device owners with additions like Drag & Split, Natural Window Switching, better Multi-Active Window, Cover Screen Mirroring, and more.
We previously detailed these One UI 3.1.1 characteristics in our Galaxy Z Fold 3 review and our story detailing its best features. They have certainly elevated the user experience to new heights, and thankfully, every foldable device enthusiast should now benefit from these changes, more or less, depending on the model they own.
Which One UI 3.1.1 features are coming to which foldable phones?
The best features in One UI 3.1.1 are Drag & Split, Multi-Active Window and Natural Window Switching, Auto Rotate Apps, Customized Aspect Ratios, Flex Mode Panel, Taskbar, and Cover Screen Mirroring.
- Drag & Split lets you open a URL in split-screen mode while browsing the web without having to reopen another browser instance. It works by dragging and dropping the desired link to the edge of the screen.
- Multi-Active Window and Natural Window Switching now provide a better experience with options to readjust the height and width of opened apps when using three app split-screen mode.
- Rotate All Apps allows users to enable landscape orientation for apps that natively work only in portrait mode.
- Custom Aspect Ratio for Apps lets you choose a different aspect ratio for apps that don’t fill the whole screen. Options include full screen, 16:9, 4:3, and App default.
- App Split View enables a more tablet-like UI for the Z Fold series, or more specifically for various apps. Now, this feature works with apps that don’t natively support it.
- Similarly, Flex Mode Panel adds Flex Mode compatibility to apps that don’t offer native support.
- The Taskbar is a fine addition to the Galaxy Z Fold series. It’s somewhat reminiscent of the original Edge Screen for the Galaxy Note Edge. It’s a persistent taskbar containing your favorite apps. It makes for much easier app switching.
- Cover Screen Mirroring lets you easily transfer — or mirror — the layout of your cover screen home screen to the main foldable display. It lets users have a more unified UI design across both home screens without having to do all the work manually.
Most of these features were designed for the book-like form factor, which means they won’t be available for the Z Flip series. The clamshell foldable phones will have access to Flex Mode Panel and Drag & Split, but not much else. Still, these additions are appreciated.
As for the Galaxy Fold series, both the Galaxy Z Fold 2 and the original Galaxy Fold will benefit from most of these new additions in One UI 3.1.1. In fact, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 will take advantage of every one of these new features, while the original Galaxy Fold will be missing out on two: Cover Screen Mirroring and Flex Mode Panel.
The One UI 3.1.1 update for these foldables is already rolling out in the US and will also be reaching other markets starting today. As always, you should be able to download it from your phone’s Settings » Software update menu, but you can also skip the wait and download new updates from our firmware database.
If you want to see these new One UI 3.1.1 features in action, make sure you check our in-depth video below.
