If you’re a fan of Samsung’s Smart Select feature on your Galaxy phone, the One UI 6.1.1 update might disappoint you. This update introduces several changes to the feature, most of which aren’t for the better. The Smart Select edge panel has been removed, and a few tools have also been taken away from the feature. Thankfully, there’s some light at the end of the tunnel.
Everything Samsung removed from Smart Select in One UI 6.1.1
Smart Select is a useful tool for selectively capturing a portion of the screen. It lets you quickly copy or translate text and images, share them with others, save them, or add them to a note. Until One UI 6.1, Samsung offered a dedicated edge panel for Smart Select. It included two selection types — rectangle and oval. It also included buttons to create a GIF animation and pin your selection.
Samsung removed the Smart Select edge panel in One UI 6.1.1 introduced on the Galaxy Z Fold 6. While the feature is still accessible from the Apps edge panel — appears at the top alongside Sketch to Image and the last used app shortcut — you don’t get the same experience. The company has significantly changed the functioning of Smart Select. The Oval selection type is no longer available.
The company redesigned Smart Select to make it work like Circle to Search. You can select an object or text by drawing a circle around it. The feature automatically converts the selection into a rectangular box, which can be resized by dragging from corners. Additionally, Samsung removed the GIF creation tool. The whole feature is gone. You cannot record GIF animations via Smart Select.
Thankfully, the latter feature might be back soon. Samsung reportedly plans to reintroduce GIF creator to Smart Select. It’s unclear if a new update for Smart Select will bring it back or we will have to wait for One UI 7.0. The Oval selection type appears to be gone for once and all, and so does the Smart Select edge panel. None of this should be a dealbreaker though, as One UI 6.1.1 has tons of goodies to explore.
Sumit is passionate about technology and has been professionally writing on tech since 2017. He’s a mathematics graduate by education and enjoys teaching basic mathematics tricks to school kids in his spare time. Sumit believes in artificial intelligence and dreams of a fully open, intelligent and connected world.
