Samsung has its new flagship phone, the Galaxy S25 series almost ready for release (here’s when to expect it). But it looks like there will be a major speed boost for one aspect of the current Galaxy S24 series—which is great news for those who have the S24, S24 Plus or S24 Ultra and won’t need to buy a new phone to get it.
The change is down to the upcoming One UI 7 software Samsung is expected to unveil alongside the new S25 range. It’s one of the benefits of electronic goods, that with improved software, hardware can get better with age.
In particular, among the benefits of the new software is a change which leads to a new unlock sound, according to regular leaker Ice Universe. The leaker describes the new lock and unlock sound as “crisp”, and notes there’s a new sound to indicate the phone is charging.
That’s mildly interesting, not more than that, but the bigger news is how that will impact the speed of unlocking the S24. In a separate post on X, Ice Universe says, “Not only the sound is clearer, but also the fingerprint unlocking speed is extremely fast, which is faster than the previous version.”
That might not sound revolutionary, but think about it: some reports have claimed that we unlock our phones well over 100 times a day, with some estimates suggest 300 plus is more accurate.
Remember when you had to type in four or six digits or swipe a pattern every time? Fingerprint sensors made this faster, and under-the-display fingerprint sensors made unlocking more convenient.
So if the fingerprint unlock is faster, that’s a bonus. The video that accompanied the X post demonstrated the unlock on the display of a Samsung Galaxy S24 using beta software, so unless there’s a remarkable change, that speed bonus is definitely coming to Samsung’s 2024 phones.
In the video, it looks more like a tap than a press, so quick is the response.
It’ll be far from the biggest upgrade in One UI 7, and some features will be exclusive to the phones waiting to be released, but it’s a neat extra.
