Samsung's Always On Display Gets a Fresh UI and Animations

Ever watched a tiny animation and smiled without looking away from your phone? That’s precisely what Samsung is leaning into with its latest Always On Display update. It’s small, but it changes the personality of the lock screen: snappier motion, cleaner visuals, and a few celebratory flourishes when goals go in.

The app lands as version 8.9.36.23 and brings a redesigned user interface plus new animations tied to Google Sports — specifically soccer goal celebrations and key moments in the Now Bar. The result feels less like a static information slab and more like a living widget that reacts when something noteworthy happens. Short. Bright. Playful.

This build is appearing on devices running One UI 8.5. If your Galaxy phone or tablet has already received Samsung’s latest stable One UI 8.5, you should see the update rolling out quietly through the Galaxy Store. Want to check right now? Open Galaxy Store, tap Menu, then Updates, and choose Update all. The change installs quickly and doesn’t disturb settings or widgets — just fresh visual polish.

Why should you care? Because glanceability matters. A clearer, more animated Always On Display reduces friction: you get the gist of a match highlight or a notification without waking the entire screen. It’s a tiny UX win that adds up if you check your device dozens of times a day.

Samsung isn’t stopping at polish. The company finished rolling One UI 8.5 out to the confirmed device list and even pushed it to eleven models that were previously in limbo. Behind the scenes, focus is shifting to One UI 9.0 on Android 17. Earlier today, firmware files linked to One UI 9.0 surfaced for the Galaxy A57, A34, and A17 — early breadcrumbs that suggest Samsung is testing its next major customization across midrange hardware.

If you prize quick, glanceable updates, this modest Always On Display refresh is worth installing.

Small touches like animated goals and a tidier Now Bar are the kind of refinements that slowly reshape how we interact with devices. Try the update, watch how your lock screen reacts next time a game breaks open, and ask yourself whether the next OS release will feel this alive.