Galaxy Watch tiles and app drawer get a major overhaul in Samsung’s new beta

The One UI 8 Watch beta just kicked off, letting users of the Galaxy Watch 7 and 7 Ultra try out the latest Samsung has to offer early. Now, thanks to a couple of avid users on Telegram (and Android Authority for spotting their reports), we’ve gotten a good look at a couple of mainstay One UI 8 Watch features: an updated apps screen and tiles interface.

An updated app drawer

Source: Dalgeishgx on Telegram

Initially shared by Dalgeishgx on Telegram and brought to our attention by Android Authority, One UI 8 Watch will bring some significant improvements to the Galaxy Watch apps screen. Prior to the update, the apps screen consisted of a grid of all your Galaxy Watch’s app icons. You could manually change the order of this list, but that was the only customization available.

In the One UI 8 Watch beta, though, there are a couple of handy new options. You’re able to toggle on a new featured apps segment that shows a selection of apps automatically picked based on your usage patterns. You’ll also be able to choose between the typical grid view and a new list view that shows app icons along with their names — an option that was missing from One UI Watch until now.

New pill-shaped app tiles

Source: That Josh Guy on Telegram

Samsung’s first-party app tiles are changing shape. Flagged by That Josh Guy on Telegram (and again via Android Authority), in One UI 8 Watch, Samsung’s own app tiles are now pill-shaped. There are larger tiles that still occupy all of an individual tile screen on your watch, along with smaller versions that can be stacked on a single page.

You can see these new tiles in action in That Josh Guy’s video on Telegram here.

The One UI 8 Watch beta is going on now

These new features were spotted in the One UI 8 Watch beta, which is ongoing now and open to users with Galaxy Watch 7 or 7 Ultra. The Galaxy Watch 8 series, which is expected to be announced in July, will likely launch with One UI 8 Watch preinstalled.