How to set up One UI 5 homescreen on Samsung Galaxy phones

Samsung has officially released One UI 5 software based on Android 13 to the top Samsung Galaxy phones. Apart from Android 13 add-ons like per-app language settings, and deeper Material You integration, Samsung added several lock screen and homescreen customization tricks to take your Galaxy experience to the next level. Here are the best tips to set up One UI 5 home screen.

Samsung Galaxy One UI was always feature-rich, with a long list of customization options. The momentum continues with One UI 5 as the Korea giant adds several Android 13 features and neat tweaks to make your Galaxy phone truly yours.

1. Better Material You integration

Samsung’s Material You implementation in Android 12-based One UI 4 felt half-baked, with few UI elements still sporting the standard color scheme instead of a selected shade from the device settings. One UI 5 features a deeper Material You implementation with system-wide UI changes. Follow the steps below to implement it.

1. Swipe up from the homescreen and open the App drawer.
2. Open the Settings app (it looks like a gear icon).
3. Select Wallpaper and style.

4. Tap Color palette.
5. Enable the Color palette toggle and check up to 16 color combinations based on your wallpaper.

6. You can check the live preview at the top and apply the palette to the app icons from the same menu.

You can also select from 12 basic color options. Unlike Google Pixel phones, Samsung allows you to turn off the color palette in One UI 5. Similar to Android 13 on Pixel phones, One UI 5 applies a dynamic theme to third-party apps.

Go back to the homescreen, and you will notice the new color palette in stock apps, the notification center, and the volume picker menu. Neat, isn’t it?

Samsung introduced iOS-inspired widget stacking in One UI 4.1, and with One UI 5, the Korean giant has tweaked it for better usability. Thanks to stack widgets, you don’t need to create several homescreens on your Galaxy phone. You can combine several widgets of the same size and place them as a single widget on the homescreen.

1. Long tap on a widget and select Create stack from the Smart suggestions pop-up.
2. In the widget picker menu that opens, expand any app and add a widget to the stack.

3. Swipe left or right to switch between widgets and add more widgets to the stack with a simple drag and drop.

Samsung offers a Smart suggestions widget that knows your needs before you do. The widget shows apps to use, people to call, calendar events, and more based on your routine. Apple offers the same with the Siri suggestion widget.

You can long tap on the homescreen and expand the Smart suggestion menu to add a 4 x 2 widget. You shouldn’t expect astute suggestions from day one, though. The system may take a while to learn your usage pattern and show suggestions accordingly.

4. New wallpapers

Samsung usually releases new wallpapers with major phone launches. The company packed some neat wallpapers to implement on your phone’s lock screen and homescreen. Let’s check them out.

1. Open Settings on your Samsung Galaxy phone (refer to the steps above).
2. Select Wallpapers and style.
3. Open Browse my wallpapers.

4. Check the new graphic wallpapers and Dynamic Lock screen from the following menu.

5. Customize the lock screen like a pro

Samsung already offers several options to decorate your phone’s lock screen. But before One UI 5, you had to head to the device settings to make changes to the lock screen. One UI 5 brings the same customization options right on the lock screen.

1. Press the power button to access the lock screen.
2. Long-tap on the clock to open the customization menu.

3. Change the clock style and position and play with several colors.
4. You can also change the notification type to icon only and change transparency.

6. Use your favorite apps in your preferred language

Here’s another Android 13 customization trick Samsung implemented in One UI 5. You can change the language in supported apps. Let’s take Google Maps as an example.

1. Launch Settings on your Galaxy phone.
2. Scroll to General management.
3. Tap App languages.

4. Select your preferred app.
5. Change the app language from the following menu.

Once you set up your perfect One UI homescreen and lock screen, enable new multitasking gestures to enable a pop-up view and split screen experience on your Galaxy phone. You can find those options from Settings > Advanced features > Labs.

One UI 5 brings a breath of fresh air to your homescreen

Apart from homescreen customization, One UI 5 also brings text recognition, a privacy hub, custom call backgrounds, and more. Check our dedicated One UI 5 coverage to learn everything.

One UI isn’t limited to the tricks above. Read our tips to improve your Galaxy phone’s homescreen experience and get the best of Samsung’s Android skin.