How your Samsung phone will look with Android 12

With the release of the first beta of One UI 4.0, Samsung had not yet integrated this feature that changes the system theme according to the wallpaper selected by those using a Galaxy smartphone. In fact, until last week, it was still doubtful whether the South Korean giant would actually offer this option with Android 12 update.

• Also related: These are the best Samsung smartphones you can buy in 2021

However, with the announcement of the second beta of its user interface, Samsung has adopted this feature into One UI, and we now have far greater integration of colors to the Galaxy line's system screens. You check out some examples of this application below.

Android 12's "Dynamic Theme" is named "Color Theme" in Samsung's One UI

Apart from the default option, you can choose from 4 different color palettes.

After selecting the Wallpaper, the system theme color will be integrated into the interface

The color integration ranges from quick settings to app selection keys

For this test, we used the beta version of the latest One UI 4.0.

New color scheme based on the smartphone's wallpaper

Material You, the new design guideline that arrives alongside Android 12, has brought a new dynamic theme mechanism to the system as its main feature. Under the codename "Monet", this feature generates color palettes based on the colors extracted from the mobile wallpaper.

This way, changes happen both in the system's quick shortcut bar, as well as in the apps that have been adapted for it.

Samsung has chosen to name the feature Color Theme in One UI. Among the native apps that support Color Theme are Phone, Contacts, Calculator, Calendar, Settings, Clock, and Messages, among others.

Setting up the dynamic theme in a Galaxy device is as simple as it is in the Pixel line. It is possible to do so via a long press on the home screen or from the system settings. Once that's done, you just need to choose the wallpaper of your choice and select the color theme, as shown in the screenshots below:

1. Setting the Color Theme starts with a long press on the home screen...

... Or directly in the system settings, under the Wallpaper option

2. By selecting My Wallpapers, you choose the wallpaper

3. Select the image as your start screen and lock screen

4. You can then choose the color palette for the theme

A more integrated color experience

Once you set up the Color Theme on your Galaxy phone, the color palette you choose will be used as a visual reference for system icons and apps, providing a more integrated color experience. So whenever a new wallpaper is selected, you'll get a matching look and feel.

And, of course, if you like the default system colors, you can retain them without any issue because in addition to four different color palettes, we still have the option of using Samsung's original tones.

First Wallpaper selection

Phone application interface

Color Theme applied on selection sliders

Settings application interface

Color Theme applied on the quick shortcuts

During our review of the second beta of One UI 4.0 for the Galaxy S21+, we noticed that not all services have been adapted to work with the new dynamic theme. An example of this is Samsung's native keyboard, which unlike the Gboard which has been adapted for Android 12, did not modify the interface's color palette when we switched the wallpaper.

Second Wallpaper selection

Color theme applied to quick shortcuts

Interface of the Calculator app

Clock application's interface

Digital Wellness application interface

As we showed in our first test of One UI 4.0, in addition to the visual changes, Samsung has also included a number of optimizations to the interface of Galaxy devices, such as new software features for the camera, gallery, and image editor. In addition, the Privacy Panel of Android 12 has been adapted to the system settings, offering information on the use of mobile resources in a more transparent manner.

To find out if your Galaxy smartphone is on Samsung's list of eligible phones that will receive the One UI 4.0 update, visit our Android 12 update tracker for Samsung devices.

So, what did you think about the incorporation of Material You in One UI 4.0? Which interface do you prefer: the current one that runs on Android 11 or the new one with Android 12? Share your opinion in the comments below.

About the One UI 4.0 beta testing program:

The One UI 4.0 beta testing program for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and Galaxy S21 Ultra models has been open since September 14. It is available in selected countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, China, India, Germany, Poland, and South Korea, where you can enroll in the program from the Samsung Members app if interested.