Samsung announces new features for older Galaxy foldables and smartwatches

Samsung has announced a plethora of customization options, multitasking and productivity features, and so much more for its older generations of Galaxy foldables and smartwatches. All these new capabilities are already available for Galaxy Z Fold4 and Z Flip3, Galaxy Watch5 series, but they will no longer be limited to these devices only, as Samsung wants to bring the same set of benefits to as many people as possible.

New features such as the new taskbar and multitasking experience, the ability to open multi-window from anywhere, and many more will reach Galaxy Z Fold3, and Z Flip3 from today. The South Korean tech giant will roll out these new functionalities through One UI 4.1.1, which is based on Android 12L. One UI 4.1.1 will be gradually rolled out globally in the coming days.

After installing the Android 12L on Galaxy Z Fold3, you will be provided with a PC-like taskbar to give you faster access and switching of apps. Samsung has also announced huge improvements in the multitasking experience. For example, One UI 4.1.1 will now let you add a group of apps to the taskbar, helping you quickly access your favorite app pairs. This will be useful when you need to use two apps together. Also, Android 12L on Z Fold3 will allow users to open multi-window anywhere. A couple of instances include dragging an app to the edge for split view and into the center for pop-up view.

Accompanying multitasking features are new swipe gestures to help you be more productive on your foldable phone. The new swipe gestures will help you with instantly switching full-screen apps to pop-up windows or splitting your screen in half for more ways. Moreover, the latest One UI update also comes with Dual Preview, enabling you to capture an image both on the main and cover screen. You can take high-resolution selfies with the rear camera.

There are some exciting changes for the older generations of flip phones too. Samsung has announced two significant changes for Galaxy Z Flip3, including an upgrade to the Quick Shot feature and new functionalities to the cover screen. The Galaxy Flip series will now be able to make calls to your contacts, dial back missed calls, and even reply to texts with voice-to-text and emojis without the need to open it.

Samsung also has something for its older generations of smartwatches. New capabilities such as new watch faces and more ways to customize them, a QWERTY keyboard for smoother communication will be available to older Galaxy smartwatches through One UI Watch4.5, including Galaxy Watch4 Series. Samsung has also confirmed that some of these features will also be available for Galaxy Watch3 and Galaxy Watch Active 2.

If you are using an older generation of Galaxy foldable or smartwatch, what are your thoughts about the new capabilities coming to your device? Let us know in the comments below.