Samsung may be gearing up for the stable rollout of One UI 8.5, but the company is already laying the groundwork for its next major software upgrade — One UI 9.0. Expected to debut later this year alongside Android 17, a new report has revealed a potential feature that could finally address one of the most requested additions by Galaxy users.
App Lock Could Be Coming to One UI 9.0
Samsung’s One UI is widely regarded as one of the most feature-rich Android skins available today. However, it still lacks a native App Lock feature — something many users have been asking for over the years. The demand grew even stronger after Apple introduced app locking capabilities in iOS a few years ago.
According to a recent discovery in Google’s Android 17 Canary build, the long-awaited App Lock feature may soon become a core part of Android. This development strongly hints that Samsung could bring the feature to Galaxy devices with One UI 9.0.
How App Lock Works in Android 17
The latest Canary build suggests that hidden or locked apps will no longer display detailed notification content. Instead, notifications from such apps will show generic text, such as:
- “New message” for messaging apps
- “New notification” for other app categories
While this enhances privacy, it’s still unclear whether Android will show the app icon or app name alongside these notifications. Since the feature is still under development, Google has not officially announced it yet.
Google Is Still Working Behind the Scenes
At the moment, Google is developing the App Lock feature internally, which explains why it hasn’t been rolled out publicly. However, more details are expected once the Android 17 Developer Preview launches in the coming weeks.
When Will App Lock Arrive on Samsung Phones?
Samsung has not yet started integrating Android 17 features into One UI 9.0. This is largely because Google has not finalized these changes at the core Android level. Once App Lock becomes an official Android 17 feature, Samsung is expected to adopt and customize it for Galaxy devices through One UI 9.0.
If everything goes as planned, App Lock could finally make its debut on Samsung smartphones later this year, marking a major privacy upgrade for One UI users.
via: SamMobile
