
Google is working on a new feature called Rich Ongoing Notifications for Android 16, which is somewhat similar to Apple’s Dynamic Island on iPhones. This feature would allow apps to display more detailed notifications as chips in the status bar, instead of just icons.
Notifications are crucial for mobile operating systems like Android, where apps often aren’t running in the background. To improve notifications, Google has been making changes in recent Android updates. For example, they made all notifications dismissible and minimized notifications while videos are playing. The upcoming Android 16 could bring even bigger updates with the Rich Ongoing Notifications feature.
From the latest Android 15 beta release, it looks like this feature will allow apps to create chips with custom text and background colors in the status bar. Tapping on these chips could open more information about the notification, similar to the screen recording chips introduced in earlier updates.
Although the Rich Ongoing Notifications API isn’t available to developers yet, Google has created a command-line tool to show how it might work. Tipster Mishaal Rahman captured some example notifications, like one from the Google Clock saying an alarm would go off in 10 minutes.
Some people think Google is just copying Apple’s Dynamic Island. While it’s possible that Apple inspired Google, it’s worth noting that Android has used status bar chips for a long time, even before Dynamic Island was introduced. For instance, Android 12 allowed call durations to show up in the status bar a year before Apple’s feature.
https://twitter.com/kdrag0n/status/1403901180665679873/
If Android 16 opens this feature to all apps, it would be a significant upgrade. While Dynamic Island may have inspired it, it isn’t fair to call Rich Ongoing Notifications a direct copy. The feature is still being developed, and since Android 16 won’t be released for several months, there’s plenty of time for Google to make changes.
Via – Android Authority