Samsung's Coolest One UI 7 Feature Needs More Work

Samsung's One UI 7 and the Promising (But Buggy) Now Bar

Samsung's One UI 7, featuring Android 15, introduces exciting personalization options, including the innovative Now Bar. While a welcome addition, particularly its sports score display, the Now Bar currently suffers from several frustrating issues.

What is the Now Bar?

Debuting with the One UI 7 beta and fully launched with the Galaxy S25 series, the Now Bar displays live information—notifications, music, maps, sports scores—at the bottom of the lock screen and notification shade. Its functionality is reminiscent of the iPhone's Dynamic Island, but with both advantages and shortcomings. The Now Bar dynamically updates (mostly), showing turn-by-turn directions from Google Maps, among other uses. It shares space with the Now Brief feature.

Current Issues with the Now Bar

The Now Bar's implementation is currently less than ideal. It experiences frequent glitches, slow updates, and feels unfinished. Accidentally dismissing a sports alert permanently removes it until the next game. Recovering dismissed alerts proves difficult, despite attempts to refresh Google Sports. Reddit users report similar issues, including difficulty getting sports information to display at all.

Setting up favorite sports teams for tracking is also unclear. While a March update via the AOD app provided some clarification, the core functionality remains inconsistent. The Now Bar sometimes displays inaccurate scores, lagging behind the actual game progress by an entire period in some cases, as shown below.

The limited app integration further restricts the Now Bar's utility. Currently, it supports select Samsung apps, Google Maps, and sports updates. The full list (on Galaxy S25) includes Google Sports, Maps, Samsung Health, Interpreter, Clock, Voice Recorder, Notes, and emergency features. However, the potential for alarm controls, call notifications, and task reminders remains untapped.

The Need for Third-Party App Support

Expanding the Now Bar to support third-party apps is crucial for its full potential. While this requires significant refinement, the payoff would be substantial. The current selection of integrated apps is limited, leaving room for significant improvement.

The app support list was more extensive during the beta testing phase, suggesting future expansion is likely.

A Positive Outlook

Despite its current flaws, the Now Bar shows promise. Samsung's commitment to refining the interface, improving features, and expanding app support suggests significant improvements are forthcoming. Addressing the current bugs and enhancing customization options will transform the Now Bar into a valuable feature, enhancing user control over notifications and overall phone interaction. Despite its current limitations, the Now Bar's potential is undeniable.

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