Samsung's upcoming One UI 9 might introduce hidden settings that give users more control over Android 17 features than even Pixel devices offer out of the box. The new options focus on managing background audio playback and the system's protection against unwanted audio events.
Android 17 from Google includes a feature called "enhanced background sound protection," which by default restricts apps from playing audio in the background. While this is meant to prevent unexpected sounds and improve app interaction safety, it can also interfere with common use cases. For example, listening to internet radio in a browser or playing YouTube in the background without a subscription may be affected.
According to findings in the One UI 9 Beta 2 test build, Samsung has added its own toggle to disable this restriction. Interestingly, Pixel devices running Android 17 lack such an option, and users there can only make these changes via ADB.
The discovered setting is buried deep in the developer options, specifically in the additional settings section. It remains unclear whether it will survive into the stable release of One UI 9 or be removed before launch.
Additionally, the firmware code hints at a new performance system that could limit distracting apps at the network level. One UI 9 might automatically classify web browsers and games, covering both already installed and recently downloaded applications.
Users will likely still be able to manually exclude specific browsers and apps if they're needed for work or daily tasks.
If these features make it to the final version, Samsung would essentially offer a more flexible way to manage Android than Google's baseline version.