The February Unpacked event is just a couple days away and we have another Galaxy S23 leak on our hands. Instead of any hardware details, we now know more about the One UI 5.1 update coming to all supported Galaxy phones. But there appear to be some Galaxy S23-exclusive upgrades, too.
Obtained by WinFuture (via Android Authority), we have a full changelog for the One UI 5.1 update. Things like Gallery improvements and making it easier to set up your Galaxy S23 appear here, but this is a point release on top of One UI 5 (based on Android 13). So don't expect huge changes.
Curious? Here's what's new.
One UI 5.1: What's new
Before we share the changelog, we wanted to highlight the most important new features in One UI 5.1 based on this leak. As we said, this is a point release that lacks major upgrades, with Samsung instead looking to refine the experience for the upcoming Galaxy S23 and anyone who picks up one of the three rumored models.
It appears that the big focus is on the Gallery app with Samsung offering new features such as family photo album sharing. AI will analyze the faces in a photo and then suggest you share it if it recognizes any family members in the shot. Samsung is offering 5GB of free storage per family member (up to six people). If all of this sounds familiar, it's because you can do this in Google Photos.
Gallery's search function will also get see an improvement according to the leak. You'll be able to search for more than one thing at a time or search for people based on their face.
One UI 5.1 will also see the Expert RAW app live in the Advanced section of the main Camera app. This could be great for the upcoming Galaxy S23 phones, all of which are rumored to get camera upgrades, highlighted by the 200MP main camera tipped for the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
As for the Galaxy S23-exclusive features, they're not all that grand. Samsung plans to make it easier to switch to your new S23 from an older Galaxy or Android phone. Using Bluetooth LE, One UI 5.1 will supposedly migrate over your saved networks, plus your Samsung and Google accounts via a QR code.
Finally, the last thing we want to point out is the Bixby calls section. Here, the Bixby personal assistant would be answer phone calls for you, where you'll see the caller's speech come through as text. It sounds a lot like Google's Call Screen on the Pixel phones, so count us as intrigued.
One UI 5.1: Leaked changelog
Here's a list of the changes One UI 5.1 should be bringing to the Galaxy S23 family broken down by app.
Camera
- Changing the hue for a selfie just got easier: Easily change the hue of your selfies with the Effects button on the side of the screen.
- Quick access to Expert RAW: The Expert RAW app allows you to capture high-quality images without any processing or compression, perfect for those who want to edit their photos later. Accessing Expert RAW is now easier from the Advanced menu.
Gallery
- Common family album: With Shared Family Album, sharing photos with your family is easier than ever. Gallery recommends photos to add to your shared family album by recognizing your family members’ faces. You also get 5GB of storage per family member (up to 6 people).
- Improved handling: Processing automatically removes shadows and reflections to make your photos look great. You can also recreate GIFs for better resolution and clarity.
- Convenient information display: If you swipe up when viewing a picture or video in your gallery, you can see at a glance when and where the picture was taken, on which device, where it’s stored, and more.
- Search has become more powerful: You can now search for more than one person or item at a time. You can even search for people without tagging their names, just by clicking on their faces.
- Choose a location to save screenshots: Now you can save screenshots and screen recordings in a folder of your choice by setting it up in the advanced features.
AR Zone and AR Emoji
- Use 3 Emojis in AR Emoji Camera: Take fun photos and videos with friends (up to 3 people) in mask mode. You can replace your friends’ faces with other characters by clicking the emoji.
- Layout and editing improvements in AR Doodles: The brushes are now available on the main AR Doodle screen for quicker access. You can also resize and move drawings after you create them, and the new eraser tool lets you erase just a portion of your drawings without completely erasing them.
Widgets
- New battery widget: With the new battery widget you can check the battery level of your Galaxy devices. Right from the home screen, you can see how much battery your smartphone, Galaxy Buds, Galaxy Watch and other supported devices have left.
- Intuitive weather widget: The new illustration style and a summary of the current weather conditions make it easy to know the weather information, whether it’s sunny, cloudy, raining or snowing.
Modes and Scenarios
- Different wallpapers depending on the mode: Set different wallpapers on the lock screen and the home screen depending on your current activities. Choose a background for work, one for sport and more by setting different modes.
- More conditions and actions for scenarios: Run scripts automatically when you turn on airplane mode or mobile hotspot. Scripts can now open some apps, adjust left/right audio balance, and more. New actions now let you control Quick Share and touch sensitivity, as well as change the ringtone and font style.
Connectivity
- Collaboration in Samsung Notes: Create a shared note that multiple people can edit at the same time. Write a report with colleagues, take notes for a study group, or draw a picture with a friend. The possibilities are endless.
- Inviting to shared apps made easy: Now you can easily invite people to shared albums, notes, and calendars using a link that can be shared across apps like messenger, email, and social networks.
- Advanced multiple controls between Galaxy Book and smartphone: Now you can use your Galaxy Book’s mouse, keyboard, or trackpad not only with your Galaxy tablet, but also with your Galaxy smartphone. You can easily copy and paste text and drag and drop images from one device to another as if it were the same device.
- Media output for Wi-Fi speakers: If you want to continue listening to music on Wi-Fi speakers via Spotify Connect and the built-in Chromecast, simply open the media output from the quick access toolbar, not the music apps.
- Continue surfing on the PC: If you surf the Internet on your smartphone with Samsung Internet and then continue browsing on your PC, you can find the websites you opened on your smartphone and continue browsing them with the PC browser.
Samsung DeX
- Improved multitasking in DeX: In split screen mode, you can now drag the splitter in the middle of the screen to resize both windows. You can also snap a window to one of its corners so that it takes up a quarter of the screen.
Settings
- Settings suggestions: Suggestions are now displayed at the top of the settings screen, letting you know about useful features to try or settings that need your attention so you can enable or try them right away.
Samsung Internet
- Improved search: You can now search by folder name in bookmarks or by group name in tabs. Improved search logic allows you to find what you’re looking for, even if something is misspelled.
Setup Wizard
- Faster and easier initial setup of your new Galaxy: If you’re switching to a new Galaxy from a Galaxy or other Android device, simply scan the QR code on your old device to automatically migrate your Wi-Fi networks, Samsung account, and Google account to the new device to transfer without typing anything.
Weather
- Detailed weather information at a glance: Useful weather information is now displayed on the main screen of the Weather app. You can check severe weather alerts, daily weather reports, hourly precipitation and color temperature charts.
Calls
- Bixby text calls: Use Bixby text calls to automatically answer calls and find out the purpose of the call. You’ll see what the caller is saying in a text chat, and you can tap or type replies to have them read aloud to the caller. Bixby text calls are only available in English and Korean.
One UI 5.1 availability
Funnily enough, Samsung itself leaked its plans for One UI 5.1 when it comes to devices older than the Galaxy S23 (via 9to5Google). The phone maker supposedly will push out the update to "flagship models released after Galaxy S20 and Galaxy Z Flip.”
So that would mean the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, Galaxy Z Fold 2, Galaxy Z Flip 5G, Galaxy Z Fold 3, Galaxy Z Flip 3, Galaxy Z Fold 4, and Galaxy Z Flip 4.
It's safe to assume One UI 5.1 will come to other Samsung devices, too. We don't know a timeline yet, but we'd guess a March-April time frame.
Galaxy S23 software outlook
One UI 5.1 doesn't look like a major update if this leaked changelog is to be believed. The Gallery enhancements seem nice, but it's Samsung once again playing catch-up with Google. But if you don't want to use Google Photos for whatever reason, at least you won't miss out on some cool features.
Of course, the Bixby call feature sounds interesting, so we'll have to see if and how that pans out.
We'll likely hear all about One UI 5.1 on Wednesday, so keep it locked here to stay up-to-date with all of the latest Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Ultra news.
