One of the most notable features that packs with One UI 7.0 is the Now Bar. It is a pill-shaped UI element that displays information about real-time activities such as live notifications, ongoing navigation directions, music player, and routines on the lock screen. On the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S24, the Now Bar is located at the bottom of the lock screen and between the two shortcut icons. And that looks clean. Now, there is chatter on social media platforms regarding its position on the recently launched mid-range smartphone, the Galaxy A56.
Recently, a user posted an image on Reddit that shows the position of Now Bar on the Galaxy A56. As you can see in the image below, Now Bar sits much higher on the lock screen. It sits above both the bottom of the display as well as the fingerprint scanner, creating a weird placement on the lock screen. On top of that, it consumes unnecessary screen space.
Credit: Reddit (MidhileshSai)
Fingerprint scanner placement is affecting the Now Bar position on the Galaxy A56
Now, you might be thinking: why is this difference? Is it just because it’s a mid-range device? Well, the answer is no. For instance, both Galaxy A26 and Galaxy A06 5G’s Now Bar widgets should show just like Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S24, though these are affordable handsets — both feature side-mounted fingerprint scanners.
The problem is actually associated with under-display fingerprint scanners, just like we speculated a month ago. Ultrasonic scanners seen on flagships like Galaxy S25 Ultra are placed higher on the display. So, there is enough room for the Now Bar to fit comfortably at the bottom of the screen. The problem arises with mid-range devices like Galaxy A55, A56, and even Galaxy S24 FE, which feature an optical under-display fingerprint scanner.
This scanner sits much lower, and hence, it overlaps with Now Bar’s original target area. As a result, Samsung has positioned the Now Bar widget much higher on the lock screen of Galaxy A56. So, if you own a Galaxy device with an optical fingerprint scanner and are unhappy with the position of the Now Bar, you can turn it off using simple steps. Head over to settings, tap on Lock Screen and AOD, and tap the Now Bar option.
