I’ve been using the One UI 9 beta on my Galaxy S26 for a couple of weeks now, and I’m genuinely excited about what’s coming.
Once you enable the Network Speed toggle, your Samsung phone will show the internet speed in KB/s, MB/s, or GB/s depending on the traffic.
To access it, you first need to unlock the Connectivity Labs menu on your Galaxy phone.
For those who don’t know about Connectivity Labs, it’s a hidden Wi-Fi menu on Galaxy phones that unlocks several handy features.
Driving report to track trip and detailsDriving insights you’ll find usefulDriving report is easily my favorite One UI 9 feature.
I’ve been using the One UI 9 beta on my Galaxy S26 for a couple of weeks now, and I’m genuinely excited about what’s coming. And no, it’s not because Samsung is introducing some ground-breaking features or dramatic visual overhaul. Quite the opposite. One UI 9 is all about small, quality-of-life improvements that make the phone a joy to use.
Network speed indicator
It’s about time
Pankil Shah / MakeUseOf Credit: Pankil Shah / MakeUseOf
It’s hard to believe Samsung has gone this long without a built-in network speed indicator, especially when Galaxy phones are known for all kinds of quirky customization features. Thankfully, One UI 9 is bringing a real-time internet speed meter to the status bar.
The feature isn’t baked directly into One UI’s settings, though. Instead, it’s part of Samsung's Good Lock app, specifically the QuickStar module. Once you enable the Network Speed toggle, your Samsung phone will show the internet speed in KB/s, MB/s, or GB/s depending on the traffic. I know other Android brands like OnePlus have offered something like this for years, but it’s nice to finally see Samsung bringing it to Galaxy devices.
Disable internet access for distracting apps
Stay focused by blocking distractions
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Another internet-related feature in One UI 9 is the ability to cut off network access for individual apps. The idea here is to stop apps from distracting you while you study or work. Samsung mentions that you can use it for social media apps and games to improve concentration.
Much like the network speed indicator, though, this feature isn’t easy to find. To access it, you first need to unlock the Connectivity Labs menu on your Galaxy phone. For those who don’t know about Connectivity Labs, it’s a hidden Wi-Fi menu on Galaxy phones that unlocks several handy features. In that menu, open AI Network Guard or Network Restrictions, set up a 6-digit PIN, and choose apps for which you want to disable internet access.
What I like the most about this feature is that it’s not a simple on/off switch. It also includes a Downtime option that lets you restrict network access for apps for specific hours every day.
Integrated call logs
See all your calls in one place
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One UI 9 is making it easier to keep track of your calls by bringing everything in one place. The Phone app now combines your regular phone calls with calls made through supported third-party calling apps, like WhatsApp and Google Meet.
The unified call log is something that iPhones have offered for years, so it’s nice to see Samsung adopting it. What’s even better is that you can control which apps can contribute to the unified call history. That means if you don’t want your WhatsApp calls to show alongside your regular calls, you can hide those by heading to Phone Settings > Other call settings > Other calling apps.
Tap to share
Quick Share is now actually “quick”
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With One UI 9, Galaxy phones will have a feature called “Tap to share,” and it works as you’d expect. You can tap your Galaxy phone against other compatible phones to share photos, videos, files, and even contacts. The feature uses NFC to detect the other device and initiate the transfer.
When you’re inside the Gallery app, Quick Share interface, or the standard sharesheet, tapping the two phones together will start the file transfer. If you tap two phones together while you’re on the home screen instead, One UI 9 will exchange contact information. Yes, it’s very similar to Apple’s NameDrop feature.
Driving report to track trip and details
Driving insights you’ll find useful
Driving report is easily my favorite One UI 9 feature. It tracks your driving history and habits to generate a detailed report of every trip. It collects information like the route you took, distance covered, total driving time, average speed, and other trip stats. But that’s not all. It even uses your phone’s sensors to detect acceleration, braking, sharp turns, and steering behavior. The idea is to give you insights into your driving habits so you can drive more safely, which can be useful if you’ve just learned how to drive.
The feature isn’t enabled out of the box, but you can turn it on by heading to Settings > Connected devices > Driving report. You then need to select your car from the list of Bluetooth devices. Once that’s done, the feature will activate as soon as your phone connects to the car. It even gives you a weekly summary of your driving habits.
Samsung Galaxy S26 SoC Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Display 6.3-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x RAM 12 GB Storage 256 or 512 GB
As I said earlier, most of the new stuff in One UI 9 is the little things that make your phone nicer to use. Of course, this is still beta software, so there’s always a chance Samsung tweaks or even drops some features before the stable release. But yes, these are the ones I’m most excited to see make it to the final version.
