Smart Widgets to come to Samsung Galaxy Tablets
Samsung built on Android 12’s major widget push by allowing you to group them together and have numerous widgets on your homescreen at the same time. Smart Widgets, which were previously only available on Samsung’s One UI 4.1 phones, are now available on Samsung’s Galaxy tablets, including the Tab S8.
What can I do with the widgets?
There’s a new “Smart Widget” entry at the very top of the Widgets list on our standard-sized Tab S8, which is running the March security patch and was released on April 15. When you expand it, you’ll see three sizes: 22, 41, and 42.
The 22 widget cannot be resized, but the other two can be expanded to fill the entire screen. Long-pressing a grouping gives you access to all of the widget’s customization settings, as well as the ability to remove or add it.
You can modify with a fullscreen UI and turn on/off “Auto rotate widgets” under Settings, which is next to Remove.
How can I apply Widgets?
Swipe left or right to go through the widgets, just as on a phone, with a countdown indicator at the bottom. This is a new addition, and it appears to have been included in the mid-April update. At this time, availability does not seem to be widespread.
When its it available?
The Galaxy S21 and S22 are the only phones that are available. Despite arriving with One UI 4.1, Smart Widgets were not accessible on the Tab S8 at launch. It’s incredibly efficient, however it’s significantly more beneficial on phones with smaller screens than tablets.