One UI 7 is the latest big firmware update from Samsung. It's in the beta stages for a handful of Galaxy devices, and the stable version ships with the Galaxy S25 and the new Galaxy A 2025 lineup.

Samsung will soon start rolling out the stable version of One UI 7 over-the-air to more Galaxy phones and tablets, and the company expects to bring the stable update to the Galaxy S24 series in early April.

One UI 7 stands out as one of the most ambitious updates in recent years, and if you have an eligible phone that will soon receive it, you have plenty of great new features to look forward to. Here are our top 5 in no particular order.

One UI 7 introduces two brand-new features called Now Bar and Now Brief. Both are powered by AI, and they seamlessly bring relevant information to the user.

The Now Bar is an interactive, pill-shaped UI element that pops up on the AOD and lock screen when certain apps and features run in the background. Some examples include Maps, Samsung Health, Samsung Notes, Voice Recorder, the Clock (stopwatch and timer), and Google Sports.

It is worth noting that the list of apps and features Now Bar supports can differ by device. For instance, the Galaxy S25 series has a more useful Now Bar than the Galaxy A56.

As for Now Brief, this is a new AI-powered app in One UI 7 that collects information and delivers personal briefings and content throughout the day. Now Brief taps into Health information, Calendar appointments, travel plans, Routines, weather updates, and more.

The information users see in Now Brief in One UI 7 changes throughout the day. It's almost like a virtual assistant that you may actually want to use.

For many years, Galaxy device users have asked for an option to align the app drawer vertically as an alternative to horizontally scrolling pages. Users with access to Good Lock had a workaround, but those without Good Lock had no such luxury.

With One UI 7, fans can finally align the app drawer vertically. It's a bit awkward, but it's there. Users can switch from a horizontal to a vertical layout by tapping the menu button in the search bar, tapping Sort, and selecting Alphabetical order.

In other words, the Custom order option aligns the app drawer's pages horizontally, whereas the Alphabetical order option switches to a vertical layout.

Oddly enough, One UI 7 doesn't allow users to sort apps in the app drawer alphabetically while maintaining a horizontal layout. This is a limitation that One UI 7 users have to deal with for now.

Speaking of Good Lock, Samsung intends to finally lift the region-locking limitations from this beloved app and make it available globally. Furthermore, Samsung will release Good Lock on the Play Store.

The company confirmed this but hasn't said exactly when it will happen. However, it is believed that Samsung may release Good Lock globally around the same time the stable One UI 7 update rolls out for older phones, such as the Galaxy S24 series.

The story continues after the video.

Using Good Lock and its modules, Galaxy device users running One UI 7 will have nearly unlimited customization options for the UI and some Samsung apps, such as Samsung Keyboard. It's a powerful tool that will help you make One UI 7 look and feel like you want it to.

With One UI 7, Samsung's Camera app UI has received a massive overhaul.

Samsung rearranged many Camera buttons and features with a greater focus on one-handed usability. Main camera features are now placed at the bottom of the UI for easier reach.

The More screen, which includes additional shooting modes and camera features, was also redesigned. It no longer takes up the entire screen but shows extra shooting modes in a kind of transparent folder — once again, making features easier to reach with one hand.

Last but certainly not least, One UI 7 changes how the notification and quick panels look and how they are presented to the user.

These panels are now separate and can be accessed individually by swiping down from the left or right side of the screen. Switching between the two panels can now be done by swiping left and right.

The quick toggle area was also redesigned and presents more sliders and groups of toggles.

Thankfully, for Galaxy device users who may not agree with how the notification and quick panels are separated, One UI 7 includes an option to unify them. There is a Together setting that makes the notification and collapsed quick settings panels work as they do in previous One UI versions.

All in all, One UI 7 is a huge update, and there is a lot to look forward to. Some changes are substantial, as they can transform how Galaxy device users interact with their phones and tablets daily. And there's even more to unpack than what we mentioned in our top 5 feature list above.

You can check out our One UI 7 hands-on video below for a closer look at Samsung's ambitious update. As usual, stay tuned for more videos and news. We'll let you know when the stable One UI 7 version goes live as soon as it happens.