Android 16 to Reportedly Show Rich Ongoing Notifications Similar to iPhone

Android 16 could reportedly let third-party app developers access Rich Ongoing Notifications. As per a report, the evidence for the under-development feature was spotted in the latest beta version of Android 15, leading to the speculation that it could be introduced in the next iteration of the operating system (OS). This feature is visually similar to the information iPhone users can see in the Dynamic Island. Notably, the feature is said to allow developers to add custom text, background colours, and icons to the status bar chips as well.

Android 16's Rich Ongoing Notifications for Apps

According to an Android Authority report, the evidence of the feature was spotted in the Android 15 QPR1 Beta 3 update. However, the Rich Ongoing Notifications are not visible, and beta testers who have access to the OS build will not be able to test it out. App developers will need to integrate the capability within the apps before end users can see it on their devices.

Rich Ongoing Notifications are a dynamic representation of in-app information that appears on the status bar and can be accessed via the notifications. These also appear on the lock screen to easily let users know about an ongoing task. For instance, the call information chip that was introduced with Android 12, shows the duration of the call without going to the dialler screen or opening the notification bar. The feature was also seen in the screen recording app on Android 15.

This feature is currently not available to third-party app developers, and most of Google's first-party apps also do not use this capability. However, Apple integrated the feature with the introduction of Dynamic Island in iPhone 14 Pro models. In that designated space, users can check how long would it take for Uber to complete the journey, or for food to arrive on Zomato and Swiggy. It also shows the score for a live game.

Rich Ongoing Notifications as seen in the latest Android 15 beta
Photo Credit: Android Authority

These are just a few ways of using the capability. During the testing of the feature, tipster Mishaal Rahman was able to generate several mockups of the status bar chip. Based on the screenshots shared, in one instance the tipster created a pickup notification for Uber while in another, he created a boarding timer for the United Airlines app. A mockup also showed the Rich Ongoing Notifications being used to show the time remaining for the alarm to go off.

Notably, Gadgets 360 staff members were not able to verify the existence of this feature. While the report claims such a feature is being developed, it cannot be said for certain whether Google will roll out the feature with Android 16 or not till an official announcement is made.