Samsung's One UI 8.5 update may be far more than a coat of paint, with the company’s Now Bar lockscreen widget looking set to offer two useful new additions clearly grounded in the everyday: Google-assisted commute news and info from nearby Auracast audio broadcasts.
If true, the updates will shorten your morning routine by minutes — and make it easier for you to join shared audio experiences without having to unlock your phone.
What Samsung Is Adding To Now Bar In One UI 8.5
It's now been claimed by tipster Tarun Vats that One UI 8.5 will bring a couple of new categories to Now Bar: Commute from Google and audio broadcast detection associated with Auracast. Now Bar already shows glanceable items — sports scores, media playback, health monitoring, phone calls, Do Not Disturb status, and real-time transit information that was not real-time at all based on Samsung Wallet tickets. These two new additions fit perfectly into that “at a glance” ethos by offering time-sensitive information as soon as you wake your phone.
The commute tile, for example, would presumably draw from Google Maps to display travel time, traffic conditions, and route advisories relevant to your saved places. The audio broadcast tile would leverage Auracast, which is a Bluetooth LE Audio feature that allows venues and devices to provide an audio stream that people in the area can connect to, as described by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group.
Why This Matters For Your Daily Commute
Commuting is such a waste of time. According to the most recent INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard, drivers in several major cities spend tens of hours every year just sitting there going nowhere. A lockscreen glance of whether today’s drive or train ride is trending better or worse than normal can prompt you to leave a few minutes early, change up your route, or swap modes altogether.
What I like most about Now Bar’s approach is that it is passive, but proactive. Imagine tapping your phone to glance at the time and seeing instantly that your usual route is 12 minutes slower, an alternative path illuminated — no app opening, no feed scrolling. For transit commuters, Now Bar already reads Samsung Wallet tickets to present you with platform and departure information; stacking Google’s commute context on top could help with point‑in‑time decisions, particularly when running between connections.
Auracast On Your Lock Screen For Faster Access
Auracast is one of the more important pieces of Bluetooth LE Audio. It provides one-to-many transmissions for tours, airport gate announcements, fitness classes, and accessibility uses. If your Now Bar picks up nearby broadcasts on the lockscreen — the name of the stream and the venue are also shown — you can tap to join a museum guide’s narration or a gate change announcement, rather than rooting through Bluetooth menus.
And this isn't (just) a concept of convenience. The World Health Organization estimates that hundreds of millions of people around the world are living with disabling hearing loss. Auracast is intended to open up public audio, permitting compatible hearing aids and earbuds to receive clear, direct feeds. With a lockscreen prompt, you have no excuse not to unlock your device. For everyone from frequent flyers to conference goers, this is all about getting the right audio at precisely the right time without any of that lag we’re used to.
How It Stacks Up Against the Competition
Google’s Pixel line relies on At a Glance for commute and travel alerts, and Apple leverages Live Activities and Smart Stacks to push timely cards. Samsung’s new Now Bar is taking aim at a similar area, but with a uniquely Galaxy twist to it: deep integration with Samsung Wallet and system status, as well as the possibility of Auracast support that neither competitor has brought up in any significant fashion on the lockscreen. If Samsung executes, you could feasibly have those small screens as the most powerful “glanceable” commuter companions on Android.
Privacy, Battery, And Everyday Practicalities
“Commute cards are born from Location History and user Saved Places in Google Maps, which users can control,” a Google spokesperson said. Anticipate the usual permission prompts and simple switches to restrict sharing or kill the tile. On the audio front, Auracast discovery utilizes Bluetooth Low Energy scanning, which is low-powered by design; however, Samsung has a balancing act to perform between battery life and background scans, so expect the phone only to check in on soundscapes when it’s unlocked or moved.
Now Bar, in fact, has one clever touch, and that’s its treatment of calls and Do Not Disturb. And making that context a little broader — like not showing any of the non‑vital tiles during meetings or not displaying Auracast prompts when DND is enabled — so that my lockscreen stays useful but does not overwhelm me with data.
Availability And Device Support For One UI 8.5
One UI 8.5 is expected to launch as part of the Galaxy S26 series and then roll out to recent Galaxy flagships and select mid‑range phones.
And, as always, features can differ based on your region and carrier. The commute cards rely on Google services, so users connected to Maps with a signed‑in account will get the best experience. Auracast is also dependent on the venue providing support as well as appropriate earbuds or hearing devices.
If those additions land as tipped, Now Bar will keep growing from a neat‑if‑niche lockscreen idea into a genuinely useful daily driver — one that shaves the friction from the moments you check your phone most.
