One UI 8.5 could bring two more additions to the Now Bar

While One UI 8.0 isn't a big upgrade over One UI 7.0, One UI 8.5 is. Samsung is expected to debut One UI 8.5 (based on Android 16) with the Galaxy S26 early next year, but we got hold of it early and have found two new additions that it will bring to the Now Bar.

We managed to obtain an internal, under-development One UI 8.5 firmware for the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and flashed it on our unit. We found that Live Notifications (Now Bar) has two new entries: Audio Broacast and Commute From Google.

Based on the names of those new integrations, it appears that Audio Broadcast could be related to Bluetooth LE Auracast audio casts, while Commute from Google could be related to commute-related updates.

It is possible that when you create an audio cast, Now Bar will display how many devices are using an audio stream from your phone. It will also be able to display commute-related updates when you are traveling from home to office and vice versa, depending on the time of the day.

With One UI 8.0, Samsung integrated Now Bar with Android 16's Live Updates feature, which means third-party apps like cab hailing and food delivery apps can display live updates on the Now Bar. Those updates will be visible on the AOD display, the lock screen, and the status bar (when the device is unlocked).