I will never update to Android 16 if this notification change is real

“By no means” is a robust phrase, however so are my emotions about this potential Android 16 change. This week, my colleague Mishaal Rahman revealed that Google is engaged on an fascinating (learn: horrible) redesign of Android’s notifications and Fast Settings drop-down menu. The change would separate these into two menus: notifications which might be nonetheless accessible with a one-finger swipe-down and Fast Settings, which require a two-finger swipe gesture.

My preliminary intestine response to this modification was a loud “NOOOOOOOO” that resonated throughout the inner Android Authority Slack channels. That was adopted by just a few GIFs of desk flipping and exploding head emojis and my colleagues’ pile-ups starting from, “That is the worst day within the historical past of Android. I can’t consider this,” to some colourful expletives that my boss would hearth me if I repeated right here. Suffice it to say, we aren’t followers of this.

There are two distinct the explanation why we don’t like this modification — or the concept of it because it hasn’t been applied but.

Inventory Android has, for years now, put Fast Settings tiles and notifications in the identical drop-down menu. You have to know one gesture to manage most of your cellphone’s toggles or test the alerts coming out of your apps. In contrast to iOS the place a swipe on the proper facet brings up the management heart whereas a swipe on the left facet exhibits your notifications, Android doesn’t require you to be exact in selecting a facet. Or to consider what you want earlier than swiping.

It’s a simple gesture; it has labored for over a decade since Jellybean 4.1 in 2021; and everybody has discovered it via sheer muscle reminiscence. Properly, nearly everybody. Xiaomi and HONOR have already break up up the notifications and toggles of their Android skins, and rumor has it that Samsung and OPPO will probably be splitting the notification shade of their upcoming software program variations, too.

The iOS-ification of Android irks me, particularly when it occurs gratuitously with a characteristic that has labored properly sufficient for years. I’ve taught the only swipe to my mother and father, and now I’m supposed to inform them that they should swipe otherwise to entry notifications or Fast Settings?

However worse but, it’s the truth that Google simply can’t cease messing with the notification shade. Somebody ought to launch a problem to Google’s product managers and designers to depart that space alone for 2 consecutive variations of Android. However no, we needed to undergo the toggles that may be long-pressed to go to their respective settings menu, then the long-press was disabled, then it was reenabled however solely to set off a small pop-up for some toggles, then the toggles have been made wider, then there have been fewer of them, and so forth. Simply depart this alone for as soon as, please, Google?

The present implementation that Mishaal was in a position to set off requires you to swipe down with two fingers to get to Fast Settings. (That is at present potential on Android, by the way in which, however we’ve got the joint notification shade and toggles to keep away from it.) The change would prohibit the Fast Settings entry to dual-handed operation because you gained’t get them with the only swipe notification drop-down. It’s bodily unattainable to do a double-finger swipe-down with the identical hand you’re holding at this time’s behemoth Android smartphones with — except you could have contortionist fingers.

Even whereas holding my cellphone with one hand and utilizing the opposite to set off the double-finger swipe-down now, I discover that my palm cramps up because of some minor Carpal Tunnel weak spot. So this could put this gesture firmly within the non-accessible class for many individuals with much less finger dexterity.

Plus, even once I do my greatest to do a double-finger swipe-down, it’s nearly a coin toss as as to if it’ll work or not. That’s possible as a result of I’ve a case on and dragging from the very prime of the standing bar with two fingers is simply impractical.

I don’t see how this two-finger swipe may ever come to a steady model of Android in its present implementation. Even when Google decides to maneuver ahead with the change, it will be completely mad to cover away the toggles behind a really inaccessible and clunky gesture. It would, almost certainly, find yourself adopting Apple’s method of two swipe-down areas: left for notifications and proper for Fast Settings.

Hear me out, for a second, although. This modification isn’t all that unhealthy, in concept.

After calming down, placing my pitchforks away, and straightening the tables I had flipped once I first noticed this, I watched the total video to see the way it’s purported to look and took a couple of minutes to replicate on it.

For one, I do like the brand new smaller Fast Settings toggles. The present ones are simply manner too massive for no good cause. Having 4 most important toggles on prime and lots of extra smaller ones under is ideal, so I wouldn’t should swipe sideways throughout many screens to search out all of the features I allow and disable on an nearly every day foundation. That is one thing ASUS has supplied on ZenUI as an choice for a few years, and I’ve at all times thought it was nice to have that alternative.

Two, I can see some advantages to having separate notifications and Fast Settings areas. The 2 options, to be truthful, usually are not associated features from a Consumer Expertise (UX) perspective. It’s simply that Android exhibits them each within the standing bar, and dropping that down reveals all of the notification particulars and all of the quick toggles. So, from a purely logical UX perspective, it’s not that foolish to maintain them separate. Plus, going again to my mother and father’ argument, whereas it’s true that they’ve discovered a single gesture and it’ll be laborious to show them new ones, it’s additionally true that they generally find yourself by chance turning off Wi-Fi or knowledge or one thing essential on their cellphone once they have been simply making an attempt to see their notifications. Possibly separating the 2 would trigger fewer accidents and irked calls to assist, “Rita, my cellphone is all black now!” “Why sure, Dad, it’s known as darkish mode; let me inform you the way to flip it off.”

Anyway, my level is that there’s a little bit of cause behind the insanity, however I simply hate that I’d should erase 12 years of muscle reminiscence and begin anew if this modification finally ends up being applied in Android 16.

Oh and, if it’s nonetheless a dual-finger Fast Settings drop-down gesture in its ultimate kind, then I’m sticking to my weapons and never updating to Android 16. I’m at an age the place know-how newness isn’t price cramping up my hand a number of occasions a day. You’ll be able to take Android 15 out of my useless chilly fingers, Google, however not less than they gained’t be contorted attempting to activate the flashlight.