It took Google years to add this Android 15 feature, and it’s still half-baked

If there’s one function I’ve had on the highest of my Android wishlist for practically a decade now, it’s notification sync throughout gadgets. I notice my use case is excessive since I’ve a number of Android telephones on my desk proper now and lots of extra in my gadget drawer, however there was a time once I simply had one cellphone and one pill and I nonetheless obtained bored with seeing duplicate notifications throughout each of them.

However notification dismissal throughout telephones is right here now, lastly, as a part of Android 15! Nicely, uh, scratch that. It’s right here when you have a Pixel 6 or newer, as a result of it’s solely rolling out as a Pixel-exclusive possibility. That’s one of many first limitations of the choice for me. The opposite is extra… sophisticated.

Sure, turning off duplicate notifications is out there throughout my Pixel 9 Professional, Pixel 9 Professional Fold, Pixel 7 Professional, and Pixel Pill, however all the pieces else is omitted. My Galaxy S24 Extremely, Nothing Telephone 2, and some different take a look at gadgets don’t play alongside. So the avalanche of notifications is there each time I choose them up or flip them on, and I’ve to attend for a minute or two whereas they catch up earlier than I do the rest. It doesn’t matter if I’ve dismissed these already on my Pixel gadgets; they’ll nonetheless be there for me on my different telephones.

And look, as soon as once more, I do know I’m a fringe case, but when I solely had a Pixel cellphone and a Galaxy Tab or a OnePlus cellphone and a Pixel Pill, I’d nonetheless be in that messy scenario the place one system desires to sync its notification state whereas the opposite can’t, and the entire function could be ineffective to me. You actually have to be all-in on nothing however Pixels to get the profit.

One would hope that Google is now boosting its personal Pixel model by protecting the function unique, nevertheless it ought to roll it out to extra Android telephones later. Nicely, at the least that’s what occurred already with a few different Pixel exclusives and I believe it’ll be the case right here.

Even when the setting made its manner throughout all the Android ecosystem quickly, there’s one other limitation that’s irking me simply as a lot. The choice to sync notification dismissal is restricted to at least one Google account, and I can’t discover Google’s documentation to know what that precisely means.

I’ve three Google accounts — a private one, a piece one, and a joint account with my husband. All of them serve totally different functions and have separate e-mail communication, calendars, bookmarks, map locations, and so forth. I even be sure to obtain apps from the precise Play Retailer account when putting in new Android apps (Asana and Slack from my work account, Instagram from my private one, Amazon and Uber from the joint account — you get the gist).

So, what precisely am I getting or not getting by deciding on one account or the opposite? Widespread sense says it shouldn’t matter which account I select: So long as it’s the identical one and it’s linked to all of my Pixel telephones, it ought to work throughout all the telephones, apps, and notifications. Proper?

Nicely, to date, I’ve seen duplicate notifications nonetheless pop up on my Pixel Pill after I’ve dismissed them on my cellphone, even from Google’s personal apps, that are signed in with the identical account. So both the function just isn’t totally rolled out (we’ve seen this earlier than with cross-device sync, the place the setting confirmed up weeks earlier than the function actually began working) or there’s some account-based limitation at play that I’m not conscious of.

I’m afraid, although, that this account picker means one thing else. Possibly it solely syncs notification dismissal for the emails, calendar occasions, missed Meet calls, Pictures recollections, and so forth. of that very same Google account. So, if I choose my private e-mail, I’ll nonetheless get duplicates of my work and couple’s e-mail notifications. Huh. Even worse, perhaps it solely works for apps the place I’m signed in with my private Google account or apps tied to my private Google Play Retailer. Possibly it doesn’t work with third-party apps even — I don’t know!

It’s clear that Google wants to clarify this function higher, what we must always anticipate of it, and why we have now to select a Google account. Is it only a technique to hyperlink all the notifications of the 2 telephones collectively or is it choosing and selecting what notifications to sync and which of them to maintain dupes of? And if it’s imagined to be practical, then one thing is off and never working. Or, if it’s not reside nor practical, then it’s time the devs shunned surfacing settings for options that don’t work simply but lest they get confused folks like me questioning why one thing isn’t doing what it’s imagined to.

And perhaps all of those hiccups are why we haven’t seen the function come to all of Android simply but. So sure, as soon as all the points are ironed out, I’d like to see this roll out broadly throughout the ecosystem. Till then, right here goes one other unhappy sigh for a promise not totally delivered.