One UI 9 Could Bring Major AOD Upgrade to Your Galaxy

As you know, the Always-On Display (AOD) on your Galaxy smartphone shows details such as the time, date, and even the Now Bar. Now, it looks like One UI 9 (based on Android 17) will take the AOD experience to the next level. Google is reportedly working on a new feature called Min Mode, which will allow select apps to show their own minimal, low-power interfaces on the AOD screen.

Android 17’s new Min Mode may redefine the Always-On Display

While digging through the latest version of SystemUI in the 2510 Android Canary release, folks over at Android Authority discovered references to this new Min Mode feature. According to their analysis, Min Mode is part of the AOD system that lets Android apps display simplified versions of their interfaces even when the phone is locked.

The publication says that Min Mode is not a replacement for the existing AOD but rather an extension of it. It uses the same ultra-low-power display mode, which limits brightness, refresh rate, and color output to save battery life. However, the phone can display a full-screen minimal version of an app that supports Min Mode.

The Android system will likely check which app or activity was running before the screen turned off and determine if that app supports Min Mode. If it does, the system will automatically display it on the AOD, preventing screen burn-in by slightly shifting the pixels every 60 seconds.

Google Maps may be one of the first apps to take advantage of this new capability. The reason is that the company is working on a power-saving navigation mode for Maps that removes most visual elements and uses a monochrome interface. Moreover, it works only in portrait orientation, which makes sense for the AOD screen.

As the development of Android 17 progresses, we can expect more details about Min Mode to surface in the coming months. This feature is definitely shaping up to be one of the most compelling upgrades coming to Android — and, by extension, to Samsung’s One UI 9.