A Now Bar update for Samsung devices has added support for animated scoreboards during 2026 FIFA World Cup matches.
The Now Bar has received criticism since its launch in One UI 7. At that stage, the functionality was restricted to Samsung apps and a few select Google apps on the lock screen. With the arrival of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 series along with One UI 8, the feature has gained more use for sports, weather forecast and third-party applications.
Samsung is expanding the capabilities of the Now Bar with integration with Google Sports scores for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The changelog mentions that the Now Bar will display new animations in the interface for goal celebrations and decisive moments. The update was identified on devices with One UI 8.5, but should also reach older models.
Samsung does not explain the details of the animations in the official changelog, but they have already appeared on the Google blog and in recent reports from Android Authority. Google has introduced several ways to track matches with Gemini and Search, and the first animation appears in an overview of the search tool.
There are also two main hidden animations: one with confetti for celebration and another for a red card. The first must appear when a team wins the match, while the ball entering the net indicates a goal scored. The red card stands out as the most impactful, showing that Samsung went beyond the basics in the Now Bar scoreboard animations.
It is not defined how the animations will behave on the Always On Display (AOD), but a video from Google clearly demonstrates the animation appearing over the live notification in the notification area. The result is a richer experience than traditional score updates in sports notifications.
Samsung arrives prepared for the tournament. The 2026 World Cup group stage games begin on Thursday, June 11. The new version of Now Bar is already being released with no extra changes at the moment.