Samsung is still rolling out One UI 7 across its eligible devices. Flagships have already received the update, and midrange phones are starting to catch up. But while that continues, early signs suggest that One UI 8 could bring a much-needed upgrade to the Now Bar.
The Now Bar was introduced in One UI 7 as a slick control center. It’s already made its way to midrange devices like the Galaxy A55, and now it looks like Samsung wants to make it even more useful. A new early build of One UI 8 shows hints of upcoming changes that could tie deeper into the OS.
Upcoming One UI 8’s Now Bar upgrade will plug in Calls, Do not disturb integration
According to leaks from @Topraks9plus, the new Now Bar in One UI 8 could include direct integration with Do Not Disturb and active call controls. Right now, if you’re on a call, the Now Bar shows the status but doesn’t let you interact with it. You can’t hang up, mute, or access any quick actions. In this early One UI 8 build, that might be changing. The animations look smoother too, and the UI seems to be more responsive overall.
With One UI 8, Now Bar now shows more #OneUI8 #s25ultra #Samsung pic.twitter.com/3wOZHCYrr2
— Toprak (@Topraks9plus) May 6, 2025
One UI 8 is expected to be based on Android 16, which brings in Google’s new Live Notifications API. That could make the Now Bar smarter, allowing it to react in real time to changes like incoming calls or status toggles. Even in this early form, it hints at a bigger push to unify system actions under a single interface.
One UI 8 update adds phone calls to Now bar 🌟#OneUI8 #NowBar pic.twitter.com/Demcw5yJ8o
— Toprak (@Topraks9plus) May 6, 2025
It’s not final yet. The build seems to be running on a Galaxy S25 Ultra, and nothing is confirmed. Features may still change. But if Samsung sticks with this direction, One UI 8 could polish one of the system’s most underrated features.
We’ll know everything that’s on table as soon as July when Samsung debuts the next-gen foldables. If there’s luck on our side, we could also see Samsung open One UI 8 beta later next month.
