Samsung’s One UI 7 is out in beta and it’s chock full of security features

Samsung’s One UI 7 operating system is finally out in the wild, albeit in a beta format. The updated UI focuses a lot of its improvements on security and privacy, which is never a bad thing in today’s world.

There’s further integration with the company’s Knox Matrix security protocol, which began popping up in Samsung devices back in 2023. Knox Matrix continually monitors devices via a “secure private blockchain” and shows all connected gadgets on a dashboard.

This dashboard lets users instantly see the security status of various Samsung smart devices, including other Galaxy handsets, tablets, TVs and appliances. If a device shows as green in the dashboard, that means that it’s “up to date and no risks are detected.” If something is at risk, Knox Matrix will provide actionable recommendations. All Samsung devices will soon fall under the One UI umbrella, which should make this integration more seamless.

There are also new security measures put in place for recovering data from the cloud. Enhanced Data Protection makes sure that all connected devices are synchronized and secure and helps users make a backup plan in the event of data loss. To that end, One UI 7 lets users sign in to a new device by verifying the credentials of their previous device.

One UI 7 lets people create and use passkeys to log into a Samsung account and gives users more control over network connections. To the latter point, folks can block 2G service, which is not that safe, and make it so phones won’t automatically connect to unknown networks.

Text messages and photos have even gotten a bit of tough love to improve security. Users can remove location data from photos and block hyperlinks from text messages. Shared photo albums can also be blocked, as can automatic attachment downloads. Users can block USB connections for an added security boost. The port will still work for charging, but not for anything else.

Finally, there’s a new theft protection tool. Samsung devices could already be remote locked, but now there’s a feature called Identity Check. This opt-in software forces users to prove they are who they say they are if a PIN becomes compromised.

The new UI also brings a simplified design, broader availability of AI tools and a redesigned camera app. The full release will also include something called the Now Bar, which is a new notification system that Samsung promises will “transform the lock screen experience.” It sounds a lot like Apple’s Dynamic Island and Live Activities feature. Samsung’s Now Bar isn’t part of the beta, so we have to wait a bit longer to get our hands on it.

The One UI 7 beta program is available now for Galaxy S24 series devices in a bunch of different countries, including the US, Germany, India, South Korea and Poland. Users have to apply via the Samsung Members program. The full version of UI 7 drops sometime in the first quarter of 2025.

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