How to Customize the Samsung Galaxy S25’s Best New Features
If you've invested in a new Samsung Galaxy S25 phone, then you get access to the latest software features from Samsung, courtesy of One UI 7. This is Samsung's take on Android 15, which will slowly be making its way to older Galaxy handsets over the coming months, though there's no exact time frame.
One UI 7 brings with it a new lick of digital paint and a range of small improvements. But two new features stand out: Now Bar and Now Brief. Built with a sprinkling of artificial intelligence (of course), these are the new features you'll want to check out first if you want to make the most of your Galaxy S25.
The Now Bar is Samsung's answer to Live Activities on the iPhone: Those panels that pop up and expand onscreen when there's real-time information you need to know about. Think sports scores, or a rapidly approaching Uber, or a timer for a recording you're making—anything where a persistent notification is useful.
Android has long supported persistent notifications that stick at the top of the screen, but the Now Bar makes them more prominent, specifically on the lock screen. Even if your Galaxy S25 is locked, you can keep up with important updates from critical apps: Maybe navigation instructions in Google Maps, for example.
Tap on the Now Bar to see more details from an app.
Developers need to build Now Bar support into their apps, so you won't see every app appear right away. Samsung has made sure all of its own apps are Now Bar–ready, including Samsung Health; you can see constantly updated activity stats on the Now Bar widget while you work out, all without having to unlock your phone.
In addition, the Now Bar is the new place for the lock screen audio player widget, which was previously higher up on the screen. If you're listening to music, podcasts, or audiobooks then you'll see quick controls here. Any modes or routines you've set on your phone for muting notifications or carrying out automations will appear here too.
You can specify which apps show up on the Now Bar.
To see which apps are compatible with the Now Bar, and to choose which apps get shown, open Settings and choose Lock screen and AOD > Now Bar. Simple toggle switches let you control what gets shown on the Now Bar, and there are also toggle switches for Media player and Current mode.
Using the Now Bar is straightforward enough: Tap on any widget you see at the bottom of the lockscreen to see more information or more controls, then tap again to launch the relevant app in full (which will prompt you to unlock your phone). You can also scroll between active Now Bar widgets by swiping up and down on them.
The Now Brief is actually one of the widgets you might see on the Now Bar, though it appears in other places on your phone too. It uses a bit of AI magic to figure out the information that's most relevant to you across your various apps and deliver those things to you throughout the day. The current weather and the day's calendar schedule are two classic examples.
As with the Now Bar, app developers need to specifically support Now Brief, but Samsung has got the basics in place even without any third-party support. You can get updates on news headlines, travel plans, traffic, and local events, as well as see photo and video memories from the Samsung Gallery app and your fitness scores in Samsung Health.
You can launch the Now Brief in several ways, including via a home screen widget.
The Now Brief will also try to personalize the experience it offers based on your habits. If you tend to open Google Maps and start playing music whenever you're driving, for example, then the Now Brief might suggest that you set this up as an automated routine that activates whenever driving is detected.
You can launch Now Brief by tapping on its widget on the Now Bar, its widget on the home screen, or its icon in the Edge panel at the side of One UI 7. (The icon looks like a sun rising.) The first time you access it, you need to tap Start Now Brief, and from that point on you can customize the feature by tapping the gear icon in the lower right corner.
Content including health stats and travel updates can be included.
From the customization settings screen, tap Content to include to set which types of information you get in the Now Brief: from Events and tasks to Smart home. There's also an “Expand Now Brief without unlocking” toggle switch, which enables full access to your Now Brief from the Now Bar without requiring you to unlock your phone.
The Now Brief itself couldn't be any easier to use, with the contents refreshing throughout the day: Tap on any element on screen to jump to a fuller view of the information, whether it's a weather forecast for the next few days, or your health stats for the past week.
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