Older Samsung Galaxy phones and foldables could get One UI 7's Now Brief

Getting the One UI 7 Beta 5 update on a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)

What you need to know

  • A tipster claims there's evidence in the Galaxy S24's One UI 7 beta code that points towards the possibility of Now Brief support.
  • Nothing works; however, the tipster was able to discover the Now Brief's official page and app options.
  • A Samsung exec recently stated that not every major AI feature in One UI 7 will hit older devices due to hardware limitations.

Amidst the One UI 7 anticipation, it seems a few of Samsung's older devices could receive a Galaxy S25 feature.

There's a chance Samsung could drop a version of One UI 7's Now Brief on one of its past-gen Galaxy series, at least according to Mehmet Kaya on X (via SamMobile). The rumor started after the tipster allegedly discovered the feature while searching "Activity Launcher" in the latest OS beta. The tipster states searching for Now Brief will bring up its respective page full of feature details, as well as its list of supported Samsung apps.

However, they add that users won't see it in action during the beta. In their thread, the tipster states Samsung has "disabled it," which could indicate more work is required before it can be seen.

Another user, That Josh Guy, chimed in, stating these whispers of Now Brief for the Galaxy S24 appeared in One UI 7 Beta 4. The user states the small "traces of code" don't give a live example but only hint at its base functions and pages where users can customize it or update it. Their post states they had to go "root level deep" to even access the core of the function, which seemingly indicates the ability for the Galaxy S24 to run Now Brief.

It's not clear if Samsung plans to bring the Now Brief to the past-gen series when One UI 7 launches or

Interestingly, the publication notes that the same code was discovered in the One UI 7 beta for the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Fold 6.

This discovery leads us back to a recent interview with Samsung's EVP and head of Framework R&D, Sally. During the discussion, Sally highlighted that not every One UI 7 feature will arrive for Samsung's past-gen devices. They stated major on-device processes, like the Personal Data Engine, are extremely reliant on the phone's or tablet's available hardware. As such, the engine requires Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite to operate.

Sally added that more affordable phones will likely miss out on the bulk of One UI 7's major AI features since the available hardware isn't strong enough. One question that remained was whether or not the Now Bar/Now Brief would arrive on older phones. Nothing is confirmed, but evidence of the feature could indicate that this specific feature isn't so hardware-reliant.

Either way, Samsung confirmed One UI 7 will arrive on April 10 in the U.S. However, its fully detailed rollout schedule was discovered on its Czech Republic website, potentially giving us an idea of what to expect.

Nickolas Diaz
News Writer

Nickolas is always excited about tech and getting his hands on it. Writing for him can vary from delivering the latest tech story to scribbling in his journal. When Nickolas isn't hitting a story, he's often grinding away at a game or chilling with a book in his hand.

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