My favorite thing about Samsung’s One UI is that it adds its own layer of personality and practicality on top of Android. You still get all the goodness of Google’s Android, but Samsung enhances it with thoughtful touches that make the phone even more useful. One of the best examples of this is a feature that Samsung released with One UI 7 called Now bar.
It brings live notifications to your phone’s lock screen and always-on display, so you can follow a game, check your route, and control your music with fewer taps. It’s easily one of the most convenient features that you should be using more often.
What makes Now bar so useful
Glanceable info exactly where you need them
Samsung’s Now bar is one of those rare additions that instantly feels like it should have been part of One UI all along. It brings live notifications, music controls, modes, and routines to your lock screen and always-on display. Once enabled, it shows a small, pill-shaped widget whenever a supported activity is detected.
For instance, if you’re listening to music, your controls sit there at the bottom, ready for you. The same convenience applies when your favorite sports team is playing. Instead of opening an app or checking a widget, the Now bar shows the live score right there.
Navigation might be the most impressive example. When you use Google Maps, the Now bar shows turn-by-turn directions at a glance. All the things that would normally require you waking your phone and unlocking it appear directly on the lock screen and always-on display with the Now bar feature.
Currently, Now bar is limited to Samsung’s own apps, like Media player, Notes, Samsung Health, Samsung Wallet, Clock. Google and Google Maps also work, which is a relief because navigation support and Google updates are some of the best use cases.
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Setting up Now bar only takes a few taps
Customize it in seconds
The Now bar is available on all Samsung phones running One UI 7 or later, although the list of supported apps varie depending on the device. The feature comes pre-enabled, and you can dive into its settings to enable or disable live notifications for specific apps.
Head to Settings > Lock screen and AOD > Now bar, and you’ll see a list of compatible apps. Each app has its own toggle, so you can decide what you want to show up. Maybe you want music controls but not wallet shortcuts, or navigation updates but not reminders. The choice is yours. Note that the app must have permission to show notifications on the lock screen for the Now bar to detect it.
You can also extend the Now bar to your always-on display. For that, return to the Lock screen and AOD menu and tap Always On Display. Then, turn on Show Now bar toggle.
Using Now bar on the lock screen and AOD
Make the most of it
Once the Now bar appears on the lock screen, using it is fairly simple. You can tap the pill-shaped notification to expand it and view more detail about the activity. If you have multiple activities running, like music playback and a timer, they’ll be stacked on top of each other, and you can swipe up or down to switch between them.
If something pops up that you don’t want to see, you can long-press on that live notification and dismiss it. Or, you can dive into Now bar settings and set your preferences.
On the always-on display, the Now bar plays a more passive role. You can’t interact with it there, but you can still glance at live information like scores, navigation prompts, or media details.
My favorite thing about Now bar, though, is using it to follow live game scores. This doesn’t always work on its own unless you have followed your favorite team in the Google app. To do this, simply search for the game you want to follow, tap the three-dot icon, and select Pin live score. After that, the Now bar picks it up and keeps the score right on your lock screen and AOD, which is great for quick updates.
Now bar isn’t perfect yet
Samsung could do better
Now bar is quite similar to Apple’s Live Activities that appear on the Dynamic Island, and while Samsung’s take is already useful, there is plenty of room for it to grow. The biggest limitation is app support. Right now, it plays nicely with Samsung’s own apps and a couple of Google apps, but it would be even more useful if it worked for other apps, like food delivery and ride-sharing apps.
There’s also the lack of customization. Samsung usually gives users complete control over the appearance and layout of almost everything, but that’s not the case with the Now bar. You cannot resize it, reposition it, or tweak how it looks.
None of these shortcomings make the Now bar any less helpful, but they do show how much potential Samsung still has to tap into. It’s still one of the most useful features for me, and I can’t wait to see how Samsung improves it even more.
