Samsung Galaxy S21 series receives One UI 4 and Android 12 update

The time is finally here! Samsung announced that it will begin rolling out its big One UI 4 and Android 12 update to the Samsung Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus, and Galaxy S21 Ultra starting today, November 15.

This news comes after a two-month-long One UI 4 beta program for the Galaxy S21 series. Most of the changes Samsung is rolling out today have been available in the beta program since September. But as is the case with stable builds vs beta builds, the update rolling out today will be much more polished and bug-free than any of the previous builds.

Samsung’s One UI 4 software skin and Android 12 bring new customization options to the S21 series. Users will have access to new color palettes, which will change the look and feel of your home screen, app icons, notifications, and home screen wallpaper. Samsung is also rolling out “reimagined” widgets, which allow for deeper customization.

New emoji features, GIFs, and stickers are getting added to the Samsung keyboard app. Not many details were given in the press release, though Samsung did provide a video (below) of an Expressive Emoji feature. You can select two emoji in the keyboard and send them as an animated GIF through a messaging app.

This is Android 12 we’re talking about, so the Galaxy S21 series is also getting new privacy and security features. Android 12’s Privacy Dashboard is coming to S21 phones, which brings all security and privacy controls under one roof. You’ll also get notifications when an application attempts to access your camera or microphone. You can even turn off microphone and camera access altogether from the quick settings menu.

Also read: All of the Android 12 features, explained

If you’re a Galaxy S21 owner, navigate to Settings > Software update to check for the Android 12 update. If it’s available, tap Download and install or Download now to begin the update process. As always, if you own a carrier-branded S21 variant, you’ll need to wait a little while for the update to make its way to your device.

Samsung says One UI 4 and Android 12 will “soon” be available for previous Galaxy S, Note, Galaxy A, foldables, and tablets. Notably, the Galaxy Note 20, Z Flip 3, and Z Fold 3 can already enroll in their respective One UI 4 beta programs. Be sure to check out the articles at the link to see if the update is available in your region.

If you don’t own a Samsung phone, you can head here to find out when exactly the Android 12 update will head to your device.