Google is reportedly working on a new Android API it’s calling Rich Ongoing Notifications, which would allow apps to display at-a-glance information in the status bar, much like Apple’s Live Activities in Dynamic Island on the iPhone. That’s according to journalist Mishal Rahman, who spotted code in the Android 15 QPR1 beta 3 release. It could work a lot like the time tracker that currently appears when you’re on a phone call, with a bit of text in a bubble at the top of the display that you can tap to open the app for more information.
Writing for Android Authority, Rahman says the API would “let apps create chips with their own text and background color that live in the status bar.” This could be particularly useful for things like transit updates, allowing users to track relevant information like departure times or Uber’s ETA while using other apps. The feature isn’t complete yet, though, and it could still be a while before we see it. Rahman predicts it will arrive with Android 16.
Some significant changes are coming to Apple Intelligence Notification Summaries. With the latest slate of developer previews for iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS Sequoia 15.3, Apple has suspended the system’s collection of notifications, particularly from news and entertainment apps, while it works on improving alerts.
The company has also added a new disclosure that appears when users enable Notification Summaries for the first time. It says that notifications are a beta feature and they may produce unexpected results. Separately, the beta adds a new option that allows users to decide from the lock screen whether they want to summarize notifications from an app. Finally, AI-generated alerts use italicized text to further differentiate them from their non-summarized counterparts.
Last week, Apple told Engadget that it was working on an update to Notification Summaries. “Apple Intelligence features are in beta and we’re constantly improving with the help of user feedback,” Apple said. “A software update in the coming weeks will make it clear whether the text being displayed is a summary provided by Apple Intelligence. We encourage users to report concerns if they see an unexpected notification summary.”
Notification Summaries are one of the features that came with the initial release of Apple Intelligence with iOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1. Shortly after being rolled out to regular users, they led to bad press for Apple. Notably, the BBC published several reports accusing the app of spreading misinformation. One particularly nasty example included a summary claiming that Luigi Mangione, the alleged killer of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, had shot himself.