What you need to know
- A rumor claims Samsung is working on a way for Galaxy’s Now Brief to bring more awareness to “priority” alerts.
- The personalized feature could inform users about important alerts they’ve missed while sleeping and throughout the morning.
- One UI 9’s first beta just got under way in May, showing off just a few features it’s looking to refine, like Samsung Notes and the Quick Panel.
One UI 9 is under development on Samsung’s side, but a new rumor says there might be something in store for Now Brief that you won’t want to miss.
Diving into One UI 9’s early code, tipster AssembleDebug (with Android Authority) claims that the company is working on a way to prioritize important alerts. There are a few strings that may support this tipster’s theory. Each seems to correlate to different times of the day, which Now Brief typically provides alerts. If you’ve received an alert while you were sleeping, there’s an early message saying, “Check these important notifications that came overnight.”
Samsung is reportedly working on two more—once during the morning and once before you sleep—for increased awareness. AssembleDebug informed the publication of a potential update to the Now Brief widget, playing into this increased awareness for important notifications.
The tipster adds that Samsung might push people to open Now Brief completely, rather than rely on its lockscreen widget (or home screen) to see what they’ve missed. It doesn’t seem like Samsung has made this feature available in full in its test, considering the tipster is relying on suspicions and code for this rumor. As testing continues, we’ll likely learn more and possibly see how this will look in Android 17 (One UI 9).
One UI 9 is off and running
Now Brief on Galaxy had a pretty useful update a few weeks back, when Samsung rolled out support for its TVs. Through a SmartThings patch, the company integrated Now Brief with smart locks, appliances, Family Care, and more. What’s more, Samsung said it was bringing a version of Now Brief for its TVs. Every morning, users could check their TVs and see a roundup of what happened while they were asleep.
Android Central’s Take
Now Brief is all about convenience. The convenience of seeing everything that’s going down on any given day at a glance. I can see important alerts about the weather, emails, and news articles that morning (or night), and now my TV is involved. This “priority” alerts rumor is interesting. If they’re important, I’d imagine someone would see it. But if you don’t, I guess it’s not a bad safety net to have.
Currently, as we begin receiving One UI 8.5 on the Galaxy S25 and more, Samsung is already working on One UI 9. The first beta rolled out a few days ago for enrolled Galaxy S26 users. Early on, the new OS features updates for customization tools in Samsung Notes. The Quick Panel is also getting another rework, as the company deploys independently adjustable sliders for your brightness, sound, and the media player.