I found the one reason you should download the One UI 8 beta

It’s been a few days since Samsung shadow-dropped the One UI 8 beta, and so far, first impressions are positive. While not as drastic an update as One UI 7, we’ve found plenty of noteworthy changes — from Now Bar updates to new widget customization options. There’s a fair amount to like, but there’s one feature that clearly stands above the rest as my number one favorite.

Is it the new Samsung Weather app? The updated Samsung Reminder interface? The new Galaxy Buds lock screen controls or the improved Secure Folders? No, no, no, and no.

For years, Android’s split-screen multitasking interface has been annoyingly limited to two main views: a 50:50 split and a 70:30 split. The former means both of your apps are evenly split in half, while the latter lets your main app take up 70% of your screen, while the secondary one is in a much smaller 30% window. The 70:30 split gives your main app a bit more room to stretch out, but even on giant phones like the Galaxy S25 Ultra, it still feels quite cramped at times.

Just look at the screenshots above as an example of what I’m talking about. The 70:30 view is objectively the best of the two, but neither one is particularly good. In both cases, the app you want to interact with is smaller than what’s ideal, while the one you aren’t actively using takes up more screen real estate than it needs to.

The 90:10 split, however, is a near-perfect solution. Here, your primary app takes up almost the entire display, while the other one is pushed off to the edge at the top or bottom of your screen. OnePlus has offered something similar for a few years now with its Open Canvas interface, and with One UI 8, that same functionality is now available on Samsung phones — and it’s terrific.

Having played with this 90:10 split on my Galaxy S25 for the last few days, it’s everything I had hoped for. Apps running in the 90% portion of the screen look and feel almost identical to running them standalone, while tapping the app in the 10% view swaps its placement with the other application. It’s easy to use, works seamlessly, and makes split-screen multitasking on my Galaxy S25 far more useful than it’s ever been.

There are tons of use cases for this, but one of my personal favorites is when I’m paying bills. I love having my credit card app open in one window and the calculator app in the other, and being able to bounce back and forth between them to ensure I know what will be coming out of my bank account. It’s also great for having Google Keep and the Target app open simultaneously, allowing me to quickly check items off my shopping list as I add them to my cart.

As someone who typically ignores Android’s split-screen multitasking, the 90:10 view is a legit game-changer. It takes what’s an otherwise unhelpful feature and turns it into something I wish were on every Android phone. And, thankfully, it will be soon enough.

What’s great about this updated multitasking is that it isn’t specific to One UI 8. Instead, it’s a core feature of Android 16, and that means it’ll be available on any phone that eventually gets the update — whether or not it’s a Samsung phone.

Is that too much praise for a slightly different multitasking UI? It may come across like that, but once you try the 90:10 view for yourself, I think you’ll agree with me.