a day ago
Samsung's Galaxy Update—Get Android 16's Best Feature Now
Change this Samsung setting now.
Google Pixels are now upgrading to Android 16, just as Samsung confirms that One UI 8 Beta 2 only just live. In the aftermath of One UI 7 delays, the clock is now ticking for Samsung to power through its beta program and push out Android 16 to Galaxy users.
But there's a twist to this Android 15 versus Android 16 story. While most Samsung users have only recently upgraded to One UI 7, it turns out that one of Android 16's best features is (kind of) available to them already. It just needs a quick settings change.
While live notification updates are important — who doesn't want to know 'why a burrito seems to be stuck four blocks away,' the real Android 16 highlight is Google's Advanced Protection Mode. This finally narrows the security gap to iPhone, some would argue it goes even further, with a lockdown that doesn't make phones unusable.
That has been the criticism of Apple's Lockdown Mode — that it goes too far. But Apple says it is just for 'the very few individuals who might be personally targeted by some of the most sophisticated digital threats.' Google's lockdown is more universal, targeting 'at-risk individuals' as well as anyone who 'just prioritizes security.'
Maximum Restrictions
Google says Advanced Protection Mode protects users from 'online attacks, harmful apps, unsafe websites, scam calls and more… providing greater peace of mind that you're protected against the most sophisticated threats.'
While Samsung users need to wait for One UI 8 to get Google's new lockdown, they can get almost all the benefits now. Samsung upgraded Maximum Restrictions with One UI 7 and you can enable it now. Like Advanced Protection Mode, it now blocks risky network connections — including 2G and insecure WiFi, as well as USB data cables.
More importantly, Samsung says One UI 7's Safe Install system 'sends a warning when a user attempts to download from an unauthorized source, alerting them of security risks and preventing unintentional sideloading on Galaxy devices worldwide.'
That's not as complete as Google's lock — and unlike Google's Advanced Protection, Maximum Restrictions let's you choose what to enable. But it does prevent inadvertent installs. Maximum Restrictions also 'removes location data in shared photos, prevents automatic attachment downloads and blocks hyperlinks, previews and shared albums.'
Enable Google's Advanced Protection Mode when you get One UI 8. But in the meantime, Galaxy users should turn on Maximum Restrictions now. It's no surprise this is now the default for all new Galaxy users and will keep you and your phone safer.
