By Andy Boxall
Samsung has given us an early look at one of the big software features we can expect on the Galaxy S25 series. It’s called the Now Bar, and Samsung shared some details about it when it released the beta version of One UI 7. Now, we’ve got a lot more details and a better idea of how it fits in with Samsung’s big AI vision.
The Now Bar will live on the lock screen and show personalized data about your day and activities. Samsung states it’s where you will “control your entertainment, time your next personal best workout, get directions to your next meeting, or start communicating in other languages.” It doesn’t specifically say the Now Bar is an AI assistant, but when it goes into more detail about what it can do, it certainly begins to sound like one.
Samsung gives an example of how the Now Bar goes beyond simply showing notifications. It will create folders of apps related to travel when packing for a trip, make a playlist of music for the flight, and ensure you know when you must leave for the airport. The Now Bar will also be interactive, and you will be able to swipe through it to see pertinent data like weather reports. The image shared by Samsung has the caveat that it may not show the final UI, so take it as a concept for now.
Samsung says the Now Bar’s intelligence is a step toward creating an AI that improves mobile life through personalization and lets you concentrate on what’s important. It’s using the Now Bar to introduce a privacy system called the Personal Data Engine, an on-device safeguard that stores personal information in a secure, encrypted space and protects it against advanced threats. It’s part of Samsung’s Knox Vault security platform, which is already available on Galaxy devices.
This is not Samsung’s first try at creating a virtual assistant, but Bixby’s name is conspicuous in its absence here, even though it would have given its self-proclaimed Now Bar “AI companion” a bit of personality. It seems Samsung has other plans for Bixby as it strives to compete with Apple, which is giving Siri a makeover through Apple Intelligence, and Google, which is retiring Assistant in favor of Gemini on Pixel 9 devices and some other Android phones. It seems the Now Bar’s intelligence will remain anonymous for now.
The Now Bar and its personalized insights and helpful suggestions will be part of One UI 7 installed on the Galaxy S25 series, which is expected to launch in early 2025.
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
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