Samsung’s One UI 7 software included updates for one killer feature that has multiple uses: the Now Bar. From showing notifications and currently playing music on your lock screen, to a recent integration with Google Maps, the pill-shaped bar at the bottom of the screen has been a handy answer to Apple’s Dynamic Island.
Now, it seems that the Now Bar is set to become even more useful in the upcoming Samsung One UI 8 update, as a leaked image and video of an early version of the software show new features for the bar. Shared by X user Topraks9plus, and highlighted by Android Authority, the video shows the new functions of the lockscreen widget:
The video shows a user flicking through options on the Now Bar, including seeing the current Do Not Disturb mode, interacting with music controls, seeing phone calls, and seeing upcoming calendar events. The phone call feature is new, and it allows you to see the name of the contact you are on a call with and the call duration. The Do Not Disturb notification is new as well.
As well as new functions for the Now Bar, Samsung is also working on fixing the Now bar for Z Flip devices. The Now Bar is currently only visible on the internal screen on the Samsung Z Flip, which severely limits its usefulness. But a previous leak showed the Now Bar running on the current screen of a Z Flip 5 or 6 instead, which would be much more useful. That fix is expected to be part of One UI 8 as well.
Hopefully users won’t have to wait too long for One UI 8, especially given the criticism of the One UI 7 release and some of the bugs it contained. There is even a rumor that Samsung could jump straight from One UI 7.0 to One UI 8.0, given how behind it is on its releases.
