One UI 7’s Galaxy S25 Nearby Devices feature: Samsung’s answer to Apple’s seamless ecosystem?

One UI 7 brings a new Nearby Devices interface that allows you to instantly connect to other Galaxy devices from your Galaxy S25, S25+, or Galaxy S25 Ultra phone.  

During the beta testing of One UI 7 on the Galaxy S24 phones, some of the features were hidden to serve as a sweet surprise at the Unpacked event last week and with the arrival of the long-anticipated Galaxy S25 phones. One such feature that One UI 7 would bring is the brand-new Nearby Devices interface. Although that's not a huge upgrade by any means, it's a neat interface that looks quite cool and would elevate the Galaxy ecosystem experience.

Pre-order the Galaxy S25 Ultra for up to $1,250+ off

$399 ⁹⁹

$1419 ⁹⁹

$1020 off (72%)

The Galaxy S25 Ultra is officially here! You can now pre-order the mighty Samsung flagship for up to $1,250+ off at the Samsung Store! Eligible device trade-ins help you save up to $900, and you also get a $120 free storage upgrade. Additionally, you get up to $350 Samsung Credits.

Pre-order at Samsung

Pre-order the Galaxy S25 Plus for up to $800+ off

$299 ⁹⁹

$999 ⁹⁹

$700 off (70%)

The exciting Galaxy S25 Plus has finally been revealed. Pre-orders are now open, and you can pre-order a unit for up to $700 off at the Samsung Store with eligible trade-ins. There's an additional $100 Samsung Credit available.

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Pre-order the Galaxy S25 for up to $550+ off

$299 ⁹⁹

$799 ⁹⁹

$500 off (63%)

The "vanilla" Galaxy S25 is here! Now's the time to pre-order one with exclusive discounts of up to $500. To get the discount, you must trade in an eligible device. There's an additional $100 Samsung Credit available, which includes your $50 Reservation Gift!

Pre-order at Samsung

The new Nearby Devices interface is accessible through the quick panel. It lists all your (as the name suggests) nearby devices at the bottom and allows you to connect to any of them in an instant with your Galaxy S25. To do so, you need to drag a device's icon to the center of the screen. It's a fluid and modern interface that even has some sci-fi-inspired effects.



If you tap a device, it reveals the sharing and connectivity features that are available once the device and the Galaxy S25 are connected. Right now, it seems the feature is only supported on the Galaxy S25 phone, but it may (or may not, we don't know yet) trickle down to older Galaxy S models with One UI 7.

Meanwhile, Samsung says the Nearby Devices feature will work only with Galaxy devices, Samsung smart TVs, and smart monitors by the company. It exists to make connecting Samsung devices easier and more intuitive, probably in an attempt to further advance the Galaxy ecosystem and reach Apple's fluid interconnectivity between Apple devices.

It isn't known at the moment whether devices from other brands would be supported in Nearby Devices. I'd say if the focus is indeed on Galaxy devices, connecting with other devices using the feature would somewhat ruin the exclusivity effect, but we'll have to wait and see.

The Galaxy S25 trio was announced during Samsung's Unpacked event last week and is now available for pre-order, with general availability starting February 7.

Although the event got some people questioning whether Samsung's new devices are as exciting as they should've been, the new phones still brought several notable upgrades, including a new ultra-fast chip, contextual Galaxy AI (something Apple promised for its iPhone 16 but we're still waiting on), and a sweet rounded-corner look for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, among other improvements.