In a recent development that has taken many by surprise, Samsung has introduced a controversial change in its One UI 6.1, impacting the way notification categories, or what Android users commonly refer to as channels, are handled on devices running this version of the software. This move has been met with criticism for its anti-consumer nature, particularly because it rolls back one of Android’s most praised features.
Notification channels on Android have long been touted as a significant advantage over the competition, including iOS, due to their ability to offer granular control over the types of notifications users receive. Before this feature was introduced with Android 8.0 Oreo in 2017, users had to either accept all notifications from an app or block them entirely, leading to a cluttered notification space or missed important alerts. Notification channels revolutionized this by allowing users to easily disable specific types of notifications without affecting the rest.
However, with the release of Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series and other devices updated to One UI 6.1, the company has disabled notification categories by default. Users now find themselves having to opt into all notifications from an app or none, removing the level of control previously enjoyed. This change not only inconveniences users but also makes managing notifications more cumbersome, especially for those who rely on notifications for critical information while preferring to avoid spam.
Furthermore, the update to One UI 6.1 automatically opts out anyone who had set up their notification preferences in the past, effectively resetting any personalized settings. Adding to the frustration is the lack of an intuitive way to identify the source of a notification or to access the notification’s specific settings due to the removal of the highlight feature found in stock Android.
Nevertheless, there is a workaround. An in-depth investigation by Zachary Kew-Dennis, reported on Android Police, revealed that One UI 6.1 includes a hidden toggle to enable or disable notification categories altogether. By navigating to Settings > Notifications > Advanced settings and turning on Manage notification categories for each app, users can restore the functionality of notification categories. This allows once again for customization of alert types within individual apps, exemplified by the ability to turn off specific categories in the Galaxy Store app that are deemed unnecessary or annoying.
Despite the existence of this fix, the decision by Samsung to make such a user-centric feature opt-in rather than the default has been widely criticized. It has been seen as a step backward for Android, diluting one of its unique selling points and complicating the notification management process—a problem that had been effectively solved. Critics argue that this shift not only undermines the user experience but also signals a worrying trend towards an oversimplified system that limits user choice and control.
As the debate continues, it’s clear that Samsung’s latest update has sparked concern among the Android community. Many are calling for the company to reconsider its stance and restore notification channels to their former, user-friendly state. Whether Samsung will respond to these calls to action remains to be seen, but for now, users have at least one method of reclaiming some control over their notification preferences on One UI 6.1 devices.
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