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Samsung brings the Galaxy S23’s new software to older phones

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Samsung this week announced that it will be rolling out its latest One UI 5.1 software to current Galaxy devices, including the Galaxy S22, Galaxy Z Fold 4, and Galaxy Z Flip 4 lineups. The company debuted the Android 13-powered One UI 5.1 update on the Galaxy S23 Ultra this month, and it’s bringing those extra features to general users.

“One UI 5.1 is the up-to-date example of Samsung’s commitment to providing Galaxy users with the latest innovations as soon as possible,”  Samsung’s Janghyun Yoon said in a blog post. “Over the past several weeks, we have worked closely with our service providers and carrier partners to bring One UI 5.1 to current Galaxy smartphones and tablets around the world within a few short weeks of the Galaxy S23 series announcement.”

Android 13 logo on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Joe Maring/Digital Trends

OneUI 5.1 is an update that’s intended to drive integration between Samsung phones and laptops, improve customization, and let users squeeze more value out of the camera. As with Apple, there’s now a new shared clipboard that would allow Samsung users to copy text on one device and then paste it on another. You’re also able to share web pages seamlessly, assuming you have the Link to Windows app set up.

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The camera and gallery apps see updates here too. For the former, Samsung expands Expert RAW access through the main app directly. Previously, users had to use a separate Expert RAW app to capture RAW images. The Gallery app, for its part, picks up faster face search and can now be used to quickly build family photo albums.

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Finally, Samsung adds a slew of smart widgets and routines, including a dynamic weather widget, an enhanced smart suggestions widget with Spotify integration, and more.

Users have already reported OneUI 5.1’s rollout beginning, and Samsung lists the update as coming to the Galaxy S22 series, Z Fold 4, Z Flip 4, S21 series, and the S20 series in the coming weeks. The company’s long-support timelines mean that the S20 is getting updates beyond what the now-unsupported Google Pixel 4 and 4 XL did, making buying a Samsung phone more desirable for customers interested in longevity.

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Michael Allison
Michael Allison
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