Samsung caves to Galaxy S24 users' gripes over pesky One UI 6.1 change
Samsung's focus on AI is helping its new Galaxy S24 phones smash sales records and while the devices are receiving praise for their powerful hardware, beautiful screens, and long software support, some early adopters weren't happy with Samsung's decision to take away one feature.
While the three-button navigation mode is the default way to navigate on the Galaxy S24, some users prefer gesture navigation, and many of them were annoyed by the inability to hide the gesture navigation bar at the bottom of the screen.
Previously, Samsung gave users the option to hide the gesture hint bar but One UI 6.1 took it away from the Galaxy S24. Samsung apparently removed the option because a long press of the gesture bar is what launched the Circle to Search option. It lets you look up any part of a picture your circle on the internet. Disabling Circle to Search didn't bring the option to hide the navigation bar back.
Users who prefer a cleaner home screen were displeased with the change. The navigation bar doesn't serve any real purpose and is more of a training bar or a hint bar, as Samsung's official name for it implies. In the long run, a pill that's always visible can also cause burn-in.
A vocal minority was angry about the change, particularly those who weren't interested in Circle to Search and were furious that the new AI feature was the reason behind the change.
Samsung has listened to their pleas. As first spotted by Mishaal Rahman, the company's Good Lock app, which lets you customize the user interface, can bring back the option to hide the gesture bar.
All you have to do is download the Navstar module and disable the 'gesture hint' toggle.
Samsung has heard your pleas: You can now hide the gesture bar in One UI 6.1 on the Galaxy S24!
— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) January 28, 2024
Samsung is rolling out an update to NavStar, the Good Lock module that lets you customize navigation, that brings back the setting to hide the gesture hint. Here's a before and after… pic.twitter.com/F736F3bceA
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