Samsung Galaxy S22 owners are starting to receive the new One UI 5 update based on Android 13, after weeks of beta testing. That’s according to people with the device posting that the update has reached their phones.
It’s been a couple of months since the August release of Android 13, which landed on Google Pixel phones first and ships on the new Pixel 7 devices. Other Android phone makers are still in the testing and optimization phase, and Samsung seems to be one of the first to start rolling out a finished update.
As reported by Sammobile (opens in new tab), the update seems to have started being pushed out in European countries first. This includes countries like U.K., Italy, Norway, Spain and Switzerland. Since this is such a major update, S22 owners in the U.S. may not be too far behind in getting it as well.
The phones receiving the updates reportedly include the Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22 Plus and the Galaxy S22 Ultra. The update is almost 3GB and appears to be only meant for Exynos-powered devices right now (hence the lack of U.S. availability where the S22 series is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1).
Initial reports had mentioned that we could also soon see One UI 5 on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the Galaxy Z Flip 4. Samsung never confirmed the date, but did drop a tweet (opens in new tab) today introducing One UI 5.
Introducing One UI 5 – empowering you to customize your device, enhance productivity, and enjoy amazing experiences across devices and platforms. #OneUI5 #SDC22 Learn more: https://t.co/x6mSLPhxhD pic.twitter.com/Mb5K4Jpl8mOctober 24, 2022
The new software update brings some personalization features, new multitasking gestures and deeper Material You integration.
Last year’s Material You design based on Android 12 integrated dynamic theming and brought color palette changes. Now with the One UI 5 skin, the color changes will be applied throughout the system. In fact, the dynamic theming engine has also been improved with added color support. This will now provide up to 16 preset color themes based on the applied wallpaper. Third-party app icons will also be themed to look more consistent.
Widgets will be easier to stack with One UI 5. Users will just have to long press on a widget on the homescreen, then tap on the Create stack option, and select the widgets you want to stack on top of each other.
There is also a new Bixby Text Call feature, which allows S22 owners to answer calls with texts. Bixby converts the text to audio and shares it directly with the caller while also converting the caller’s voice to text. Many other top Android 13 features make their way to the One UI 5 skin like customizing Bedtime mode, quickly extracting text from images and pasting it into a note.
You can check out all the details of the features that are set to make their way to the One UI 5 update on Samsung’s blog (opens in new tab).
Check back with Tom’s Guide, as we’ll provide future updates on which Samsung phones and regions are receiving the new software.
