5 new features coming to your Samsung phone with One UI 9.0

It’s been a few weeks since Samsung started shipping One UI 9, and the update is now reaching many more Galaxy owners. Samsung first launched the Android 17-based software on its new foldable devices, including the Galaxy Z Fold 8, and then began the official rollout with the Galaxy S26 series in September.

Over the past few days, Galaxy S25, S25 FE, and Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 owners in the US have also started getting it (via Sammy Fans), with carriers like T-Mobile and Verizon offering it first. If you have another phone, our list of all Samsung phones that will be updated to Android 17 is a good place to check if yours is covered. Unfortunately, there’s no specific timetable for when the update will arrive on all devices, so you’ll have to keep an eye out for new updates yourself.

One UI 9 brings a lot of changes and additions, and some of the most useful ones are pretty easy to miss if you’re not looking for them. Samsung has added a way to crop videos after you’ve filmed them and there’s now even a dedicated menu for checking your warranty and booking repairs right from your device.

Keeping someone centered in the frame while you’re filming a concert, game, or busy meeting can be a lot harder than it seems, especially if everyone is moving. My FanCam helps by allowing you to focus on the big picture, then go back and change who’s in the spotlight later. The feature first launched on Samsung’s latest foldable devices, like the Galaxy Z Fold 8, and is now coming to even more Galaxy devices thanks to the rollout of One UI 9.

The great thing about this feature is also that it happens right in your Samsung Gallery app. All you need to do is capture the video, then open it in the gallery and choose My FanCam from the Galaxy AI menu. From there, simply choose the person you want the video to be the focus of and the aspect ratio you want the video edited to. The AI ​​will then automatically crop the video to try to keep the targeted person in the center of the shot.

Of course, like any AI feature, My FanCam isn’t perfect and Samsung says it may struggle in some specific situations, such as if people are dressed very similarly or if they’re too short in the photo. However, it might be worth exploring, and since the feature doesn’t save old video, you can always go back and try again if you don’t like the result.

Samsung’s Interpreter feature was first introduced with Galaxy AI on the Galaxy S24 in 2024. When used, the feature lets you translate an in-person conversation in real-time using a split-screen setup so both people can easily read what the other is saying. With One UI 9, Samsung expands what the feature can do by including a new Thread view that lets you scroll through the entire conversation while you speak. This will allow you to revisit earlier parts of translated conversations, in case you want to revisit a detail you might have missed before.

There are several good use cases here, especially if you like to travel, and being able to pull up the transcript of the conversation you had with your taxi driver or the front desk clerk at your hotel are two examples of where you can use the Interpreter Discussion view. In addition to the new Thread View, Samsung has also upgraded Conversation Mode to translate even faster in One UI 9. Additionally, audio will play faster if you’re using a pair of compatible Galaxy Buds.

First introduced on the Galaxy S25, Now Brief provided Galaxy users with useful information that AI picked up, like the weather, upcoming events in the area, and more. However, users have never had much control over this feature. This changes with One UI 9, as Samsung introduces the ability to create custom maps.

Users can use prompts to create their personalized cards and Samsung says this will make Now Brief more relevant throughout the day. There are currently three categories listed for custom cards, including Weather, Health, and Videos. Once you’ve chosen a category, you should be able to choose what information you want to display on the Now Brief card, then set a schedule for it to appear on your device.

The Weather card alone can display useful information such as rain forecasts, pollen levels, as well as a seven-day forecast for the selected area, while the Health and Video cards will have their own customization options. However, you’re limited to three custom maps at a time, meaning you’ll have to delete one of your existing maps if you want to create a new one, and you’re limited to the number of times you can generate them per day.

With our phones relying so much on AI these days, it can often be difficult to keep track of everything that’s going on. And, with Samsung adding even more Gemini features to its Galaxy devices, you might feel more concerned about what the AI ​​might do when you’re not paying attention. Samsung’s new AI Assistant Activity Dashboard can help you in One UI 9, giving you more information about what AI automations might be running on your device, as well as which apps the AI ​​accessed, and even what actions were performed and when they were performed.

Of course, how much use you get from it will ultimately depend on where you live. Gemini’s task automation feature is currently only available in the US and Korea, and Samsung notes that Galaxy AI features vary by country, device model, and carrier. But if you’ve started letting Gemini book rides or order food for you, it’s nice to have a single place to check in on what he’s doing.

Keeping an eye on your phone’s warranty probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think about new features. However, Samsung is going all the way with a new feature in One UI 9 that lets you check your Galaxy device’s warranty directly through Settings. The new Warranty and Service screen will allow you to quickly run diagnostic tests as well as see how much time you have left on your device’s warranty without having to go to additional websites or anything like that. It will also show you repair history, as well as information about your Samsung Care+ subscription (if you have one) and even information about any other Galaxy devices you have connected to your Samsung account.

While this is great for tracking what’s happening with your device, the repair estimate will also help you see how much it might cost to fix certain issues without a Care+ subscription. If you’re wondering whether Samsung Care+ is actually worth paying for, seeing these two numbers side by side should make that call a little easier. The menu was previously available on Samsung foldables running One UI 9.