Latest One UI 9 build reveals new features and Samsung's refinements

A month ago, the first One UI 9 builds for the Galaxy S26 series appeared on Samsung’s servers. It was still early days, so those builds didn’t reveal much in terms of new features or changes.

They weren’t even based on Android 17 but were instead running on Android 16. That has now changed with newer builds we’ve been able to access and test on our Galaxy S26 devices.

These latest test builds are far more interesting. They line up with several leaks about the features Samsung was reported to be preparing for One UI 9.

Take Tap to Share, for example. References to the feature showed up in earlier builds, and it’s now available in the Quick Share menu on the latest firmware.

As the name suggests, Tap to Share lets you start transferring images, videos, and other files by simply tapping your phone against another device. On the Galaxy S26 series, you can also tap the top edge of the phone, as all three models include NFC antennas on both the top and the back.

Samsung has also added home screen widgets for Bixby. These are fairly basic, offering voice/microphone and keyboard icons for quickly starting an interaction. The 4×2 widget goes a step further, adding a full text input bar with a microphone icon beside it.

There’s also a new Warranty and Care menu in device settings. It serves as a central hub for support, providing warranty and repair details for all your devices, along with diagnostic tools and remote assistance options. It even integrates Bixby, letting you ask for help using voice commands.

One UI 9/Android 17 also brings new accessibility options. Select to Speak lets you tap any item on the screen to have it read aloud. Text Spotlight makes text easier to read by increasing its size. Some of these accessibility features were previously available only after installing the Android Accessibility Suite app from the Google Play Store.

One UI 9 will bring various refinements to the user interface as well, though Samsung appears to still be experimenting with different changes. For example, the first One UI 9 builds introduced slightly larger volume and brightness controls in the Quick Panel, and those have been made even bigger in the latest build.

One UI 9 is still in active development, so Samsung will no doubt continue refining existing features and adding new ones in the coming months. Some features, particularly new Galaxy AI capabilities, may not be revealed until much later in the development cycle.

One UI 9's official debut will likely happen with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Flip 8, which are expected to be unveiled in July.