Samsung phones could finally get a long-awaited app drawer overhaul

What do you want to know

• It looks like Samsung might introduce a vertical scrolling option for the app drawer in the next version of One UI.
• Good Lock’s Home Up module used to customize the app drawer layout, but Samsung removed this option in recent updates.
• Samsung may be considering integrating a “vertical list feature” directly into the operating system instead of relying on Good Lock.

Samsung’s app drawer has always slid sideways, unlike most Android phones which scroll up and down. But it looks like Samsung might finally jump on the vertical scrolling bandwagon.

Apparently, the official word from the Good Lock dev team is that the next version of One UI will include a vertical scrolling option for the app drawer, according to SamMobile.

This juicy detail came to light when a Samsung representative was answering a user’s question about the possibility of bringing this feature back to Good Lock’s Home Up module.

Right now, One UI’s app drawer organizes apps into pages, so you have to swipe left or right to move around. However, Home Up was once the go-to solution for customizing the One UI home screen, including switching the app drawer to a vertical-scrolling layout. But in recent updates, Samsung has removed this option from the module.

In a comment on Samsung’s forums, a member of the Good Lock support team explained why the feature was removed. Apparently, Samsung is preparing a “vertical list feature” that will be supported in the next version of the operating system instead of relying on Good Lock.

While Samsung could simply bring back the vertical scrolling option in Good Lock, it’s more likely that the moderator is hinting at native support for vertical app drawers being added to the OS with the release of One UI 7 based on Android 15.

Samsung is known for doing things its own way on Android. Take transparent updates for example: the company has been avoiding them for ages. But in March, the South Korean tech giant finally gave in and began rolling out the feature.

Now it appears that another user-requested feature for Samsung phones is on the horizon – one that most other Android users already have.

We’ll have to wait and see until Samsung’s Android 15 update, One UI 7, hits the beta stage, which is still a few months away.