Android 16 is preparing split-screen upgrades, and Samsung just provided a first look

Ben Schoon | May 28 2025 - 11:30 am PT

Samsung’s One UI 8 update brings support for a new split screen mode that makes it easy to switch between apps, and it serves as a first preview of what’s coming to Android 16.

Split-screen multitasking in Android hasn’t changed a ton over the years. On phones, you can have two apps on screen at once, with ratios of 50/50 or 75/25. In Samsung’s One UI 8 update, though, there’s a new option.

A 90:10 split means that you can have one app take up essentially the whole display, but tap the bottom or top of the display to immediately jump into another app. It’s faster than going through the Recents menu or even using gestures, all while avoiding the typical downsides of traditional split-screen multitasking.

The idea is very similar to – maybe even inspired by – Open Canvas in OxygenOS, which allows apps to effectively extend beyond the display, but with a sliver showing to quickly call them back into view. OnePlus brought this feature to its traditional slab smartphones earlier this year after having debuted it on foldables and tablets, and it works much the same way on One UI 8 in this preview.

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This all serves as a preview, though.

Google has been working on split-screen upgrades for Android 16 for quite some time. Big screens may be able to show up to three apps at once, while this 90:10 setup was spotted in “leaked” builds of Android 16 earlier this month. In those builds, which required the feature to be manually enabled, the shading over the “10%” app was identical to what we’re seeing in One UI 8, suggesting that Samsung likely built this support on top of what Google is preparing for Android as a whole.

One UI 8 will debut on Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 sometime around July, while Galaxy S25 users in select regions can sign up for the beta now.

What do you think of this new split-screen option?