Samsung has an app that most Galaxy users outside China have probably never heard of, but now, everyone can give it a spin. The app is called Collection, and while it’s officially exclusive to Galaxy devices in China running Android 14/One UI 6 or later, a leaked APK (courtesy of GalaxyTechie) means you can install and try it yourself.
What is the Collection app?
From a single app, you can collect text, images, documents, and more for later quick access with Collection, which functions as an all-in-one information management hub. These are arranged according to the type of content as well as the application they came from (for instance, copying text from a webpage into Google Chrome places it in the Chrome folder).
The app can suggest useful actions by automatically analyzing the saved text or screenshots. If you collect a schedule, for instance, it might offer to directly add it to your calendar. If you save flight details, it could suggest checking live flight status. Galaxy AI also lets you make summaries of text, whether it’s saved as text or as part of an image.
Collection can also find apps that work best with the saved content. When you drag text, images, or documents, a pop-up panel appears showing compatible apps where you can drop that content.
For instance, you can drag a block of text into ChatGPT or Google Gemini. By holding and dragging an image, you might be able to share it through Quick Share, include it in a note, run a Google Image Search on it, or even drop it into Galaxy AI’s Drawing Assist, where you can ask the AI to create artistic versions of the image.
What works? Which does not?
Some of the app’s features do not function as intended because it is not officially available outside of China. The version of One UI that is running on your device also affects what you get. On One UI 8, for instance, the Galaxy AI summary option is available, but the drag-and-drop app panel is unavailable. On One UI 7, the opposite is true.
Although the app panel functions, there is no summary option. Additionally, some of the features that Samsung touts for Chinese customers are absent. For instance, if you save text that contains an event or reminder, the app doesn’t recognize it and therefore doesn’t suggest adding it to the Calendar or Reminder app.
In a nutshell, although you can save content to Collection, its true utility is limited unless official access is granted. Currently, the app mostly lets you drag text and images into other apps via the panel or play saved content with text-to-speech.
How can I test it out?
The app’s APK file must first be downloaded from this link, copied to your phone, and manually installed by opening it in the My Files app (or any other file manager). You will need to turn off Auto Blocker on your device in order to install the app. You can do this by going to Settings » Security and privacy.
The app will not appear immediately in the app drawer once it is installed. To change this, enable the Shortcut option in the Settings » Advanced features » Collection menu to add the app’s shortcut to the app drawer. After that, launch the app from the app drawer, navigate to the welcome screen, and give it the permissions it needs to start using it.
How do I add items to the Collection?
You cannot directly collect or add content from within the app. Instead, Collection will show up in the list of available apps whenever you try to using the standard share option for text, images, or other supported data. You can, however, remove stuff from within the app, as you would expect, with the option to select multiple content all at once. The app also categorizes content into different folders, as mentioned earlier.
Is Collection coming to Galaxy users outside China?
Collection is a fascinating app that demonstrates the practical applications of Samsung’s Galaxy AI experiments. However, it isn’t clear if Samsung will release it to users worldwide anytime soon. We wouldn’t put too much faith in the app because, unlike many of the company’s other proprietary offerings, it hasn’t even advertised it.
