Samsung FIFA World Cup Lock Screen Animations: How to Enable Them

Samsung has pushed an update to its Always On Display app that triggers animated goal celebrations and red card alerts directly on Galaxy phone lock screens, arriving two days before the 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage opens Thursday. The update bumps the AOD app to version 8.9.36.23 and adds what Samsung's own changelog describes as "new UI animations for Google Sports soccer goal celebrations and key moments in Now Bar," Android Authority reported yesterday. These Samsung FIFA World Cup lock screen animations aren't passive score tickers; they fire when a goal is scored or a player is sent off, visible without unlocking the phone.

The update has been spotted on devices running One UI 8.5, though it may roll out to older hardware as well, 9to5Google noted yesterday. Getting the animations to appear, though, depends on more than just installing the app.

What the Galaxy lock screen goal celebrations actually look like

Three distinct animations ship with the update. A confetti burst marks a goal celebration, a second shows a football striking the back of the net and reportedly loops up to three times for added effect, and a third displays a red card when a player is dismissed, per Android Authority yesterday.

All three play inside the Now Bar, the live-information strip that runs across the lock screen and Always On Display, so the whole experience is glanceable without unlocking the device, PhoneWorld reported yesterday.

One detail remains unverified: the red card animation may appear attributed to the specific team that receives it, but Android Authority noted yesterday that this behavior hasn't been confirmed. The animations do not create a persistent live score display; nothing plays between key moments during a match.

The tournament itself kicks off Thursday, with matches jointly hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, Android Authority noted yesterday. It's the first time North America has hosted the World Cup since 1994.

How to enable Samsung Now Bar World Cup animations

Activating the feature requires three separate steps, none of which are automatic:

• Update the Always On Display app in the Galaxy Store to version 8.9.36.23
• Enable "Show Now Bar" under Settings → Lock screen and AOD → Always On Display
• Switch on sports-related updates from Google Discover

All three are required, as Android Authority and PhoneWorld both confirmed yesterday.

The Google Discover requirement is where things get complicated. Samsung has expanded the Now Bar's capabilities with support for Google Sports scores, meaning the animations sit on top of Google Sports updates already being pushed to Android devices, 9to5Google reported yesterday. A missing Google Sports card in your Discover feed may prevent the animations from appearing entirely, regardless of which version of the AOD app is installed.

That dependency matters because Google Sports score card support is not uniform across all markets, and geographic availability for this feature hasn't been confirmed, 9to5Google reported yesterday. Regional restrictions or account settings could suppress the score cards that trigger the animations, leaving the AOD update essentially dormant. Anyone troubleshooting a missing feature should verify all three prerequisites before assuming a device compatibility problem.

Once everything is configured correctly, the experience is event-triggered: a goal or red card during an active match you're following prompts an animation in the Now Bar on the lock screen or AOD. Between moments, the display returns to normal.

What's confirmed and what still isn't

The animations are confirmed working on devices running One UI 8.5, Android Authority reported yesterday. Because the AOD app is distributed through the Galaxy Store rather than as a full system OTA update, it may be installable on older One UI versions, but that hasn't been verified, 9to5Google noted yesterday.

What's confirmed:

• AOD app version 8.9.36.23 is rolling out now
• The feature works on devices running One UI 8.5
• Three animations are present: confetti celebration, ball-in-net goal, and red card
• All three setup steps are required before any animation will appear

What isn't confirmed:

• A specific list of supported Galaxy models
• Whether older One UI versions can install and run the update successfully
• Whether geographic availability is limited by Google Sports coverage
• Whether the red card animation appears attributed to the receiving team, per Android Authority and 9to5Google (both yesterday)

Samsung has not published an official compatibility list or a dedicated announcement for this specific feature. The reporting across all three sources is based on observed app changelog behavior and hands-on testing, not official documentation.

Users on older hardware who find the update available in the Galaxy Store can attempt the full setup, but confirmation that the animations function correctly on pre-8.5 software hasn't materialized yet. The absence of an official device list makes the rollout scope genuinely unclear ahead of kickoff.

The broader context: One UI 8.5 and the Google dependency

The World Cup animations extend a pattern that emerged with One UI 8.5, which introduced dynamic clock designs that automatically adjust around people and objects in wallpapers, PhoneWorld reported yesterday. The lock screen is becoming an active surface rather than a static one, and the AOD app update is the latest push in that direction.

The more significant structural detail, though, is how Samsung is sourcing the match data. Rather than building a proprietary sports feed, the company is expanding Now Bar support for Google Sports scores, meaning the lock screen animations are essentially a visual layer on top of infrastructure Google already operates, 9to5Google reported yesterday. That makes the feature more capable in markets where Google's sports coverage is strong, and functionally unavailable in markets where it isn't.

For Galaxy users on One UI 8.5, the setup path is straightforward: Galaxy Store update, Now Bar enabled, Google Discover sports cards on. With group stage matches beginning Thursday, the update is already rolling, Android Authority confirmed yesterday. The open question is whether older Galaxy devices receive the AOD update before the tournament's knockout rounds, and that's worth monitoring over the next two weeks.