Samsung's One UI 8 Expands Now Bar and Cover Screen App Support, Embracing Third-Party Integration

One UI 8 promises expanded Now Bar and cover screen app support at launch

Samsung's latest Unpacked event brought the usual flurry of foldables and wearables -- the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Z Flip 7, and Galaxy Watch 8 series are now official. But buried among the hardware glitz was something far more overdue: the Now Bar is finally getting meaningful third-party app support. Related Google Gemini gets smarter with Samsung's latest foldables Gemini Live comes to the Z Flip 7's cover screen Posts The Now Bar, now better Look out, AI is starting to have an impact The Now Bar is Samsung's AI-powered (and probably Apple Live Activities-inspired) widget designed to surface live, relevant data on your phone -- sports scores, media playback, and more -- in a neat strip of information. Think Google's At a Glance, but more visual and exclusive to One UI. Until now, the feature's utility has been hamstrung by a walled garden of Samsung apps and the occasional Google integration. That's starting to change. Samsung says the Now Bar is "now integrated with more third-party apps," an unspecific but welcome confirmation of what we've seen brewing in recent beta builds. Tighter integration with Android 16's new Live Updates API appears to be the turning point here. First announced at Google I/O, Live Updates offers a system-level way for apps to push real-time info -- like food delivery ETAs or rideshare status -- straight to your lock screen or status bar. Naturally, Samsung's Now Bar is getting in on that action. Close Beta examples of the enhanced Now Bar in action, from Mishaal Rahman of Android Authority, DevOfIpos, and @Topraks9plus (x2), respectively. This could be the update that finally makes the Now Bar worth the screen real estate it takes up. Since its debut, we and many users have noted that it hasn't lived up to its promise. Without third-party support, it often felt like a pretty but pointless UI element. With Live Updates baked in, though, the Now Bar might finally do what Samsung has been promising all along: show you exactly what you need, when you need it, no taps required. Samsung isn't stopping there A slate of widgets running on the Z Flip 7's cover display. Foldable fans also get a major usability upgrade. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Flip 7 FE's cover screens are now compatible with more full-fledged apps, instead of just Samsung's widgets. Motorola proved how transformative this can be with the Razr series. Now, Samsung's cover screen experience can evolve beyond gimmicks into something genuinely functional. These seemingly small changes could have big ripple effects. Samsung's ecosystem thrives when it embraces the wider Android world, not just its proprietary walled garden. Now Bar improvements, along with better foldable screen software, signal a step in the right direction. Related I used the Galaxy Z Fold 7, and it's my dream big-screen foldable Thin is most definitely in Posts 2

Samsung confirms One UI 8 'Now Bar' feature will work with third-party apps

The Now Bar has been around since One UI 7, when it launched with the Galaxy S25 series. Without support for third-party apps, Samsung's Now Bar has felt like an underbaked lock screen function. According to Samsung, that's set to change soon. During Samsung's Unpacked event, the company announced several new devices, including the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Flip 7, and Watch 8 series. Each and every one of these runs some form of One UI 8, and with it, a new iteration of the Now Bar that can work with third-party apps. For the unfamiliar, the Now Bar can best be described as a standalone AI widget that aggregates relevant data for the user. That includes live sports scores, currently playing media, and more. The compatible apps have been limited to Samsung's own programs since launch, excluding a couple of Google products. Samsung notes that the Now Bar is "now integrated with more third-party apps." That's a vague announcement, but it's an important one. Users have been advocating for more integrations with the Now Bar. As it stands, there are a limited number of items it can display, and the result is taken up lock screen real estate with little function. We've detailed how Samsung's Now Bar has the potential to be an incredibly useful feature with more apps, especially as Galaxy AI gets better at offering natural information pertinent to the user's day or location. For the feature to become as useful as advertised, it would need support from third-party apps. Being able to see live delivery stats, your preferred weather app's forecast, or boarding passes from airline apps would make a huge difference in utility. Samsung also made note that the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE and Flip 7's cover screen will work with more apps, and not proprietary widgets, as was the case before. We've seen what this means with phones like the Motorola Razr Ultra, and it makes a world of difference for foldable. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Flip 7 FE, presumably, will be able to use the cover screen like an extension of the internal display, not just as a party trick. Both sets of integrations will make room for Samsung's foldables to become more useful than before. The idea of an ecosystem built on unified proprietary apps might be nice, but third-party apps make up Android. Hopefully, the company will share more details on this soon. In the meantime, it has only mentioned that Now Bar will also start to leverage info from more Samsung and Google apps. The Galaxy Z Fold 7, Z Flip 7, and Galaxy Watch 8 series are all available for pre-order. Using our links gets you an exclusive $50 credit and up to $1,000 in trade-in value. Those numbers are boosted from normal trade-in values.