Summary

  • Samsung’s AOD update simplifies Google Sports integration and improves Now Bar notifications.
  • Clearer settings and alerts on the Now Bar enhance user experience and avoids confusion.
  • Update version 8.8.25.5 is gradually rolling out through the Galaxy Store for all Galaxy users.

Samsung gets Always On Display (AOD) right. Samsung’s Now Bar is one of the most useful features on any smartphone,

Android
or otherwise. The latest update to One UI 7 brings even more refinement to your Galaxy’s AOD and Now Bar.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 on a desk, showing its quick settings panel.


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7

Now, Samsung’s latest update to its AOD app makes it easier to integrate Google Sports and brings better notifications to the Now Bar (via Sammy Guru). This means it will be easier to track live sports scores from your lock screen and fixes a complaint many had about the Now Bar.

A clean Now Bar is a better Now Bar

Source: Sammy Guru

It’s been a frustrating mess to find all the settings for Google Sports on Samsung’s AOD app up until now. The settings were often hidden and unintuitive. This update simplifies the entire process with a toggle. Samsung also includes first-use step-by-step instructions to walk users through the process, in case any confusion remains.

The Now Bar will also let users know when notifications are turned off, so there won’t be any confusion about which alerts will appear or not. A tiny label will notify users that “App notifications are turned off.” This seems small and insignificant, but will be huge in real-world practical use. No more wondering why that other person isn’t replying.

Here’s how to get the new update

The good news is this update is rolling out to Galaxy users worldwide through the Galaxy Store. Samsung’s Always On Display app version 8.8.25.5 should be available, but if you do not see it yet, wait another day. Samsung updates tend to roll out quickly once they get going.

One UI 7 remains a work in progress, but it is clearly a user-focused update. Samsung has redesigned the entire UX to make it more about you. Sure, it may have some hints of iOS here and there, but there’s no denying that the OS is One UI. Google Sports and a more helpful Now Bar are two more reasons to

buy a Galaxy
.