Samsung is working with third-party app developers to improve its Now Bar feature, which appears at the bottom of some Galaxy phone’s lock screens to show up-to-the-minute information, much like Apple’s Dynamic Island and Live Activities feature on the iPhone. Currently, the Now Bar only shows data from certain Samsung apps and some music apps, but support is very limited, and the helpful feature is underutilized. It seems Samsung is using South Korea as the test bed for much-needed wider app support, with several local apps being optimized for Now Bar.
One of the key apps is Kakao T, which is the top ride-hailing tax app in South Korea, and it’s reported the Now Bar will show when your car will arrive, how long until you reach your destination, and the amount of time you use a rental bike or vehicle. All this is shown without the need to unlock the Galaxy phone. The obvious parallel globally is Uber, which does show ride information on Apple’s Dynamic Island.
Apple’s live sports scores are a popular Live Activities feature, and Samsung is working with South Korea’s main search engine (and Google competitor) Naver to bring its Naver Sports feed to the Now Bar. By linking your favorite sports teams to your Naver account, the Now Bar will show real-time scores and information. Sports including soccer, basketball, baseball, and volleyball are expected to be included. By adapting these apps to the Now Bar, Samsung will be a step closer to introducing support for apps popular outside South Korea.
Samsung is apparently adapting 11 new local apps for the Now Bar, but they have not been named in the ET News report. It’s also indicated Samsung is working to add its “Cross App Action” feature (also known as Seamless Actions) to Now Bar apps, where its virtual assistant — either Bixby or Google Gemini — can perform multiple functions across several apps in one voice command.
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Samsung has been seen testing apps like Google Maps for the Now Bar, and also may use the Good Lock app to customize the look of the Now Bar, and potentially even allow apps that aren’t officially supported to be integrated into it. Now Bar is part of Samsung’s One UI 7 software and the Galaxy AI suite. It’s available on the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Ultra, plus the Galaxy A56. It’s also available on some older Galaxy devices as part of the One UI 7 update.