Samsung plans to make Now Bar more useful by nearly doubling app support
TL;DR Samsung's Now Bar, a lock screen carousel of glanceable app cards, is expanding its app support and is now available on the Galaxy Z Flip's cover screen.
Samsung plans to increase the number of apps and services that support the Now Bar from around 20 to up to 35 by the end of 2025.
This expansion will be available on devices with One UI 8, which is based on Android 16 and adds a new API that allows any app to create 'Live Notifications.'
One of the biggest new features that Samsung added to One UI this year is Now Bar, a swipeable carousel of cards you can access from the bottom of the lock screen without unlocking your device. These cards contain key information and controls from various apps and services, including Samsung Clock, Google Maps, and Uber. As of last month, the Now Bar supported just 20 apps, but we've learned that Samsung may nearly double that number by the end of the year.
Samsung launched the Now Bar with its Galaxy S25 series earlier this year before bringing the feature to other devices in the One UI 7 update. While the Now Bar wasn't available on the cover screen of the Galaxy Z Flip in One UI 7, Samsung has addressed this with the new One UI 8 software release.
Joe Maring / Android Authority
Now Bar in One UI 7.
In the 'Device Experience Guide' for the Galaxy Z Flip 7, which ships with One UI 8, Samsung highlights that the Now Bar can now display real-time app alerts right on the cover screen. The document also reveals that app support for the Now Bar is set to expand from 20 services in One UI 7 (as of June 2025) to up to 35 in One UI 8 by the end of 2025.
Here is the list of apps and services that support the Now Bar in One UI 7 as of June 2025. Notably, while Samsung stated there are 20 supported apps, its official list only contains 19 items, and it's unclear which one is missing.
List of apps that support Samsung Now Bar in One UI 7 (as of June 2025) Samsung apps Now Brief Media Player Timer Stop watch Interpreter Voice Recorder Notes During exercise Current Mode Emergency Sharing SmartThings TV remote control Call Do Not Disturb Wallet (tickets)
Google apps Google Sports Google Maps
Third-party apps Uber Uber Eats Waymo
While Samsung's document didn't reveal which specific apps will gain support, the company's One UI 8 release opens the floodgates to greatly expanded support. One UI 8 is based on Android 16, which introduces a standardized API allowing any app to create 'Live Notifications.' Although One UI 8 currently doesn't show Live Notifications from most third-party apps right now, if Samsung enables this in the future, the number of compatible apps could expand significantly as more developers adopt the new Android 16 API.
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