A big possible change to Android 16's notifications and quick settings may see a welcome adjustment according to new beta findings by Mishaal Rahman and Android Authority.
The Android 15 QPR 1 Beta 3 still features the new split notification/quick settings shade that previous findings had confirmed, moving away from the unified screen that Android's used for some time. However, in order to access the quick settings users had to swipe down with two fingers rather than one, a key navigational change that could make this new interface feel a lot more awkward.
The split notifications/settings are not available by default in the QPR 1 Beta 3 release, but with some tinkering, Rahman was able to get them working. And there he discovered that the Quick Settings shade no longer needs a two-finger swipe on the right side of the display to activate, but a familiar 1-finger swipe.
You can see how this works in a video Rahman captured below.
Android 16 split notification and QS demo - YouTube
Returning to a single finger gesture to access Quick Settings makes much more sense, and not just because of familiarity. When you're using the phone one-handed, you can still access the notifications with just a thumb, rather than having to use the phone two-handed or put it down somewhere stable any time you wanted to check your settings.
One big limitation remaining with the new set-up is that you can't swap between the two screens by swiping sideways. This is something that Android skins like OnePlus' OxygenOS and Xiaomi's HyperOS can do, and would be a sensible addition to the base Android version of this feature. That said, this is the way that iOS' Control Center and Lock Screen has worked since the iPhone X arrived, so perhaps Google is following Apple's example rather than its own smartphone partners.
Android 16 seems like an update designed to buck trends. As well as introducing the new notification and settings screens, its release date is slated for mid-next year, rather than toward the end of the year like we've seen with Android 15 this year. So expect to see it on the best Android phones much sooner than usual.
Besides what we've mentioned already, Android 16 could see further alterations like the return of single-tap toggle for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Quick Settings, a new option to keep regular apps in bubbles like chat windows, and another iPhone-inspired change with the introduction of Rich Ongoing Notifications to keep you up to date with long-running tasks like waiting for a taxi or using Google Maps to navigate.
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