Samsung One UI lets Galaxy users lock apps in open state

Samsung has added a nifty trick to One UI to prevent accidental closing of open apps. The Android-based custom software for Galaxy phones lets you lock apps in an open state. You can minimize the app but it won’t be cleared from the background even if you select “Close all” from recent apps.

Samsung’s One UI keeps users from closing apps by mistake

Android phones let users quickly terminate all open apps from the Recent Apps screen. A “Close all” button closes all apps that are running in the background at once. Many people have a habit of using this button invariably every time they go back to Home after using an app. Some do this just to keep a clean slate while others believe closing background apps helps improve performance or battery life.

However, since there is no option to confirm your decision, you may have sometimes accidentally closed an app you didn’t want to. You may have realized that as soon as you hit the “Close all” button, but there is no way to resume the app from where you left off the last time. Samsung is fixing this problem for Galaxy smartphone users with its new One UI feature (via SamMobile).

When on the Recent Apps screen, tapping the app icon at the top now gives you an option to “Keep open.” Tapping it will lock the app in an open state in the background, which is confirmed by the pop-up message “1 app kept open for quick launching.” The “Close all” button can’t close it either. A lock icon on the bottom-right corner of the app preview in Recent Apps denotes a locked app. If you want to unlock it, simply tap on the said lock icon.

Android phones from other brands have this feature too

This is an extremely convenient way to keep yourself from accidentally closing apps. Galaxy users would love it. However, Samsung isn’t the only Android manufacturer offering this ability. Devices from a few other OEMs have a similar feature too, including Vivo.

You can manually swipe a locked app away to close it from the Recent Apps screen. The next time you open it, the app will retain its locked state. If you are a Galaxy user and haven’t tried this feature yet, go check it out. The Android 14-based One UI 6.0 update will bring a host of new features to your phone.