Samsung has started pushing the stable Android 12 to the Galaxy Tab A8. Yes, the new firmware is based on One UI 4.1 instead company’s newest One UI 4.1.1. But no worries, as the new build bags a slew of new features and improvements to the tablet. Read along to know more about the Galaxy Tab A8 Android 12 update.
Samsung kicks off the new upgrade with the X205XXU1BVI6 firmware version and requires a big chunk of data for downloading. The Galaxy Tab A8 was launched last year with Android 11 OS and starts getting its first major OS upgrade – the Android 12 update.
The new firmware is already available in many European countries including Austria, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Nordic countries, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Southeast Europe, Spain, Switzerland, the Baltic region, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and the UK. It will be released in other regions in the coming days.
If you reside in any of these countries, you can easily check the new software inside the settings. Speaking of the changes and features, then Samsung rolls out the new firmware with features like improved privacy, camera, and microphone usage indicators, new widgets on the home screams, new animated emojis, and also easy access to gifs and stickers. A good number of Samsung apps such as the Camera app will be getting a redesigned layout and improved Always on Display.
The upgrade also bumps up the monthly security patch version from May 2022 to September 2022. Here’s the complete changelog of the new update.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 One UI 4.1 update – Changelog
- Color Pallete
- Customize your phone with unique colors based on your wallpaper. Your colors will be applied to menus, buttons, backgrounds, and apps throughout your phone.
- Privacy
- One UI 4.1 offers strong privacy protection to make sure your personal information doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
- Permission info at a glance: See when each app accesses sensitive permissions such as Location, Camera, or Microphone in Permission usage. You can deny permissions for any apps you don’t feel comfortable with.
- Camera and microphone indicators: Keep prying eyes and ears away. A green dot will appear in the upper right corner of the screen when any app is using the camera or microphone. You can also use quick panel controls to temporarily block all apps from using the camera or microphone.
- Approximate location: Keep your exact location private. You can set apps that don’t need to know exactly where you are to only have access your general area.
- Clipboard Protection: Keep your passwords, credit card numbers, and other sensitive information safe. You can choose to receive an alert whenever an app accesses content copied to the clipboard in another app.
- Samsung Keyboard
- More than just typing, Samsung Keyboard is all about expressing yourself and having fun.
- Quick access to GIFs, emojis, and stickers: Self-expression is a tap away. Get to your emojis, GIFs, and stickers directly from the keyboard with a single button.
- Animated emoji pairs: Can’t find the right emoji? Combine two emojis together, then add an animation to really get your feelings across.
- Even more stickers: Spice up your conversations with a variety of new animated stickers available to download.
- Writing assistant: Keep your grammar and spelling on point with the new Writing assistant, powered by Grammarly (English only).
- More widely available keyboard options: Keyboard layouts, input methods, and features for specific languages are now available in more regions, so you can type easily no matter where you are. You can always switch back to your previous layout in Settings.
- Home screen
- It all starts on the Home screen, where your favorite apps and features are just a tap away. One UI 4.1 helps you keep your home screen looking its best all the time.
- New widget design: Widgets have been redesigned to look better than ever, with info that’s easy to see at a glance and a more consistent style.
- Easier widget selection: Having trouble finding the right widget? You can now quickly scroll through the widget list to see what’s available from each app. You’ll also get recommendations for useful widgets to try out.
- Lock screen
- Use widgets to handle quick tasks without unlocking your phone, whether it’s controlling your music, checking your schedule, or capturing your best ideas.
- Listen where you want: Switch audio output from buds to speakers to your phone, all from the Lock screen.
- Voice recording: Got a great idea? Record a voice memo without unlocking your phone.
- Calendar and schedule at once: Check today’s schedule along with your calendar for the rest of the month on the Lock screen.
- Camera
- Lens and zoom: Lens icons show the magnification level, so you know how much you’re zoomed in.
- Video that never misses a moment: Recording starts immediately after you tap the Record button, instead of when you release it, so that you catch those precious moments before they’re gone. In Photo mode, you can touch and hold the Shutter button to start recording a quick video, then drag your finger to the Lock icon to continue recording without holding down the Shutter.
- Enhanced Scanning: Scan documents, then tap the magnifying glass to zoom in and edit them immediately. You can also do more after scanning QR codes, like calling or emailing someone instead of just adding their contact info to your tablet.
- Gallery
- Whether you’ve got thousands of pictures and videos or just a few treasured moments, Gallery makes it easier to find what you need and keep your collection organized.
- Enhanced stories: See your stories come to life with highlight videos that are created automatically. Just tap the preview at the top of each story to watch. You can also explore where the pictures in your stories were taken in the new Map view.
- Easier albums: Sort through albums more easily—even if they’ve got tons of pictures. In fact, you can sort albums by how many pictures and videos they contain so that your favorite and most used albums are always at the top of the list. A cover image also appears at the top of the screen when you view an album to give you a better feel for what the album contains.
- More control over information: Change or remove the date, time, and location of your pictures to correct it or keep it private. You can also select several pictures and edit their information at once.
- Photo and video editor
- Sometimes your photos and videos need a few tweaks. One UI’s Photo and Video editors are there to make your pictures look their best before you share them.
- Emojis and Stickers: Use an emoji to cover the face of a shy friend or add stickers to create fun pictures and videos.
- Video Collages: Make moving collages that include pictures, videos, or a combination of both. Pick out the perfect moments and create your masterpiece.
- Lighting Control: Picture too dark because of bad lighting? The new Light balance feature helps you pull out all the details to make it look great.
- Never lose the original: Get bold with your editing! You can now revert both pictures and videos back to their original versions after they’re saved, or save them as copies to keep both the original and edited versions.
- Paste from one picture to another: Experiment with mixing and matching faces, pets, buildings, and more. You can cut any object out of one picture and paste it into a different one.
- Sharing
- One UI helps you stay connected and share your experiences with others. Just tap the Share button in any app.
- More customization: Make sharing your own. You can customize the list of apps that appear when you share content to keep the clutter away and focus only on the apps you use regularly.
- Easier navigation: New layout and better navigation makes sharing a breeze. Swipe left or right to scroll through apps and contacts when you’re sharing.
- Calendar
- One UI 4.1 makes it even easier to keep your busy life organized.
- Check your schedule on the Home screen: A new widget shows your schedule for the day along with a full calendar for the month.
- Quick add events: Need to add something to your calendar in a hurry? Just enter a title and you’re done.
- More search options: You’ve got more ways than ever to find your calendar events. Choose from recent search keywords or filter by color or sticker.
- Share with others: Sometimes you need to keep others in the loop. It’s now easier to share your calendars with other Galaxy users.
- Easier date and time selection: Setting event details is a breeze with separate date and time options.
- Recover deleted events: Events you delete will stay in the Trash for 30 days so you can get them back if you need them.
- Samsung Internet
- One UI’s fast and secure web browser now makes it even easier to find the webpages you’re looking for and protect your privacy.
- Search Suggestions: Get more search suggestions when you enter text in the address bar. Results will appear with an all new design.
- Search from the Home screen: The new search widget helps you find what you’re looking for, right from the Home screen.
- Start in secret mode: To protect your privacy, Samsung Internet will automatically start in Secret mode if you were using Secret mode during your last browsing session.
- Device Care
- See your phone’s performance, security, and battery life at a glance, solve problems quickly, and get deep diagnostics for more complex issues.
- Battery and security at a glance: Battery and security issues will appear right on the main screen so you can solve problems more quickly.
- Understand your phone’s overall status: Your phone’s overall status is shown as an emoji, so you can understand it instantly.
- Diagnostic checks: Now you can get right to Samsung Members diagnostics from Device Care. If something seems wrong with your phone, try the diagnostic tests to find out what the problem is and get suggestions for solving it.
- Accessibility
- One UI is designed for everyone. In One UI 4, you’ll get even more options to help you use your phone in the way that’s most comfortable for you.
- Always there when you need it: Access accessibility features more quickly with a floating button that’s always available.
- Mouse Gestures: Perform actions more quickly by moving your mouse pointer to one of the 4 corners of the screen.
- Adjust your screen at once: Adjust contrast and size at the same time with custom Display mode (High contrast or Large display).
- Eye comfort: More visibility options are available to meet your needs. You can reduce transparency or blur.
- Extra Dim Screen: If your screen is too bright, even at the lowest brightness setting, turn on Extra dim for more comfortable reading in the dark.
- Customizable flash notifications: Make the screen flash when you receive a notification. You customize colors for each app so you can easily determine where a notification is coming from.
- Easier Magnification: Magnifier window has been merged with the new Magnification menu, giving you more options and more control for magnifying content on the screen.
- More features and improvements
- Better Always On Display: Never miss a notification. You can now set Always On Display to turn on whenever you get a notification. New animated stickers are also available to keep your Always On Display looking fresh.
- Enhanced Dark mode: To keep you comfortable in the dark, Dark mode now automatically dims wallpapers and icons. Illustrations in Samsung apps now have Dark mode versions with darker colors for a more consistent experience that’s easier on your eyes.
- Charging info at a glance: When you start charging, different visual effects let you know your charging speed more intuitively.
- Easier brightness control: A bigger brightness bar in the quick panel makes it easier to change screen brightness with a swipe.
- Safety and emergency menu: The new Safety and emergency menu in Settings lets you manage your emergency contacts and safety information all in one place.
- Settings search enhancements: Improved search features help you find the settings you need, when you need them. You’ll get suggestions for related features depending on what you search for.
- Keep your eyes on the road: The new Driving monitor in Digital Wellbeing keeps track of when you use your phone while driving. You’ll get reports on how much you used your phone and which apps you used.
- Skip an alarm just once: Feel like sleeping in? You can now turn off an alarm just for one occurrence. It will turn back on automatically after it’s skipped.
- Day or night at a glance: Have a friend on the other side of the world? It’s easier to see if it’s a good time to contact them. The dual clock widget now shows different background colors for each city depending on whether it’s day or night.
- Switch from texts to calls: Texting not cutting it? Tap the person’s name at the top of the conversation to see their details or start a voice or video call.
- More search results in Messages: Now you can search your messages for photos, videos, web links, and more. The results are all filtered so you can jump right to what you’re looking for.
- Easier search in My Files: Find the file you’re looking for, even if there’s a typo or the name doesn’t match exactly. The Recent files area has also been expanded to help you quickly locate files you’ve used or received recently.
- Enhanced Edge panels: Keep your current app in view while using edge panels. Blurring has been removed to help you see more at once.
- Resizable picture-in-picture: If a floating video is getting in the way, pinch your fingers together to make it smaller. Want to see more? Spread your fingers apart to make it bigger.
- Quick access to pop-up window options: For easier multitasking, you can pin the window options menu to the top of the window to make it easier to access.
- Some apps will need to be updated separately after the One UI 4.1 upgrade.
Whether you live in the European region or anywhere around the globe, you can check the new firmware upgrades by heading over to the Settings > Software Updates, if the update is available on your phone, you can tap on Download and Install, in case the update is not available, you can wait for a few days.
If you want to know more about it or have any queries, then you can leave a comment in the comment box.
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