One UI 8.5 Makes Now Bar Smarter with Missed Call Alerts

Now Bar is becoming more useful in Samsung’s One UI 8.5 update, thanks to a new addition: missed call support. The feature already surfaces active calls directly on the lock screen, and the latest update expands that functionality to ensure you don’t miss important calls. One UI 8.5 also brings timely reminders to contact family members into the Now Bar.

Samsung’s One UI 8.5 update adds missed calls to the Now Bar

First introduced in One UI 7, the Now Bar lives at the bottom of the lock screen and always-on display. It surfaces live updates from compatible apps such as timers, media playback, and routines without needing to unlock the phone. It also serves as a glanceable hub for essential information, which Samsung calls Now Brief.

Since its launch, Samsung has substantially improved Now Bar and Now Brief, adding support for more apps and information types. With One UI 8.5, which is currently in beta, the company is expanding the Now Bar’s capabilities. Beyond showing alarms and timers, the feature now surfaces missed call notifications in real time.

For users, this means missed calls, upcoming alarms, and other dynamic alerts can be more prominent and interactive. Instead of relying solely on the traditional notification shade, the Now Bar offers a quick glanceable space for urgent information, especially useful when your phone is locked.

Samsung is expected to continue expanding the scope of Now Bar in the future. Perhaps the company should introduce a dedicated Good Lock module that lets users choose any notification to appear in the Now Bar. That kind of customization would empower users to bring calendar alerts, messaging threads, reminders, or social notifications right into their lock screens. Hopefully, Samsung will consider this at some point.