Galaxy A72 May 2021 update brings video call effects feature

The May 2021 security update is rolling out to more and more Galaxy devices as the month progresses, as Samsung continues to show the competition how to lead in the software support game, and the Galaxy A72 is now joining the club. A new update is rolling out to the Galaxy A72 with the latest security patch in tow, along with a One UI 3.1 feature that has, so far, been exclusive to Samsung’s 2021 flagship devices.

Taking Zoom calls from home? You can now remove your unkept room from the background

This feature is called video call effects and lets you add custom backgrounds to video calls made using third-party apps such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Duo. You can use a basic blur effect (like the blur effect you get in the camera’s portrait mode), add an opaque color to the background (the color is selected automatically by the phone), or set a custom image from your gallery. It works great, and now that it’s arriving on the Galaxy A72, we can expect more mid-range and non-flagship Galaxy phones to get the feature as well.

The May update for the Galaxy A72 also includes improvements to camera performance, call quality, and file sharing via Quick Share (similar to the May update for many other Galaxy devices). It’s available in Russia at the moment but is likely to reach more countries within the next week or two, though some markets may have to wait longer as the Galaxy A72 falls in the quarterly update schedule and that means availability of new updates isn’t as consistent as it is for devices in Samsung’s monthly schedule.

You can check if the update — firmware version A725FXXU2AUE1 — is available for your Galaxy A72 by opening the phone’s Settings app, navigating to Software update, and selecting Download and install. You will also find the latest firmware in our archive and can download it to manually upgrade your phone using a Windows PC. Just be sure to do a data backup if you take that route and follow the instructions carefully.