There are many complaints about One UI 6.1, primarily relating to the navigation bar on One UI 6.1. The navigation bar is a way of moving through the UI with swipe gestures. On older versions of One UI, you could easily hide it to see more content on your display, and that makes way for more screen real estate.
Many people are disappointed that One UI 6.1 on the S24 series removes this functionality. The first way to navigate One UI is with navigation buttons. People who dislike Gesture navigation use it, and there are two types of navigation gestures. The first is the native Android style of gestures, and the second is Samsung’s navigation gestures.
If you use the Android navigation gestures, you’ll see the navigation bar at the bottom of your screen. Swiping up from there gets you to the home screen. If you swipe up and hold, you’ll see the recent apps menu with all your apps open in RAM. Many people like hiding the navigation bar. Now, you can do that with a Goodlock Module.
Steps to hide the navigation gesture bar on One UI 6.1
You can hide the navigation gesture bar on One UI 6.1 using the Goodlock NavStar module. This is only for the S24 series since only that series runs One UI 6.1 out of the box.
- Open the NavStar app (It’s a Goodlock Module).
- Tap on the Swipe Gestures tab; you’ll find it at the bottom.
- Enable the NavStar toggle.
- Enable the Extra Gesture Settings toggle.
- Open the Settings app on your phone.
- Find the Display submenu.
- Here, you’ll find the Navigation Bar option. Tap on More Options.
- Enable the Gesture Hint toggle. The gesture bar is now no longer visible. You can use the same gestures you used before; the new circle-to-search feature also works normally.
Unfortunately, One UI 6.1 completely removes Samsung’s first-party navigation system. They let you access the home screen, go back, and also view recent with a simple swipe from the bottom. It offers the convenience and speed of gestures while maintaining the button-style navigation options. The buttons are still hidden, but more screen real estate is also available.
All phones shipping with One UI 6.1 will miss out on the first-party Samsung navigations. If persistent user requests are received, Samsung could bring it back with a future One UI update. For those that want it back, it’s still possible through Goodlock.
