Samsung is rolling out Android 13-based One UI 5 beta to Galaxy S22 phones

Samsung has officially launched One UI 5 open beta for Galaxy S22 owners in the US, Germany and South Korea. The update comes just weeks before the expected release of Android 13 and just days before Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event. Like the operating system it’s powered by, One UI 5 beta looks like a relatively minor update that adds some customization options, tweaks to notifications, as well as new accessibility and security settings.

One UI 5 builds on Android 13’s theme options, offering up to 16 preset color themes based on your wallpaper and 12 additional color options for the home screen, icons, and quick panels. It also introduces a way to stack similarly sized widgets on top of each other which is supposed to help create a less cluttered look.

Image: Samsung

There are also some new accessibility features, including a magnifying glass tool that uses the phone’s camera to zoom in on real-life objects and text, as well as options to have your phone read your keyboard input aloud.

Samsung details several other features that One UI 5 has adopted from Android 13, such as new notification settings that require app developers to ask for your permission before sending you notifications. One UI 5 beta lets you too set your preferred language per app and gives you access to a redesigned safety dashboard; which scans your phone for potential problems.

Image: Samsung

When Samsung released the One UI 4 beta last year, it highlighted how it releases updates earlier each year. This time, Samsung has widened the gap between its previous update even further, pushing back the September 2021 One UI 4 beta release date by just over a month. As was the case with Samsung’s previous One UI betas, you can access the One UI 5 update by registering through it Samsung Members app.

While the One UI 5 beta is only available on S22 devices in the US, Germany, and South Korea right now, Samsung plans to roll it out to more devices and regions in the near future. We may hear more about what One UI 5 has to offer at Samsung’s Unpacked event on August 10, where Samsung is rumored to launch a number of new devices, including the Galaxy Z Flip 4, Z Fold 4, Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Buds Pro 2.