Since Google made Android 15 source code available recently, developers quickly started experimenting with this new platform. But it seems some of the changes planned for Google were excluded from Android 15 release and are likely to be released in the following quarterly platform releases or even in the next quarter’s Android 16. Among the changes that made many people turn their attention to the newest update, we can pinpoint a complete redesign of Android 16’s notification and Quick Settings panels.
To date, the decor of these panels was introduced in 2021 as part of Android 12 in conjunction with the company’s Material You design concept and combines the notification and the Quick Settings panels. Swiping down the status bar once hides it and shows the first four Quick Setting options and also the entire notification shade, swiping it down the second time shows some notifications and the expanded Quick Setting panel. This has been the traditional format of Android 16 otherwise known as AOSP for quite some time now.
A Shift Towards Separate Panels
But what is more, many Android forks function with notifications and Quick Settings in a different way. For instance, HyperOS has dedicated panels for all of them and Xiaomi acknowledges that this is the choice of more than 99% of users. This feature helps to display more notifications in the notifications panel and more tiles and buttons in the quick setting panel.
While this design choice is not welcomed by all, there are speculations that Samsung and OPPO are planning to integrate a similar solution which in turn has led to the development of online disputes. It now seems they are planning on having Android 16 in a dual shade design as well. During testing of the new Android 15 QPR beta, developers were able to enable a new version of the notification and Quick Settings panels that are expected for the Android 16 update.
A Controversial Change in Quick Settings Access
In this actual new design, although optionally pulling down the status bar once still resulted in the panel of notifications, the notifications only occupies less than a quarter on the display rather than spanning the whole width as in the initial design. But one shall note that Quick Settings tiles are no longer as easily accessible as before, in the new notifications dropdown, yet the user is able to see the app below the panel.
The one that caused the most controversy is the fact that second status bar pull down is no longer followed by the Quick Settings panel. However, getting to this Quick Settings panel is now done by swiping down the status bar with a two finger movement. This change is going to attract criticism, as it requires the user to put some work in order to get to the Quick Settings tiles.
The tiles can be easily accessed after pulling down the Quick Settings panel as there are commands that allow users to swipe from left right to display all the pages with the tiles. The brightness bar stays at the top and is accompanied by a textual label and reportedly indicates the brightness level during adjustment, like the new volume sliders in Android 16. To fit more tiles on the screen most of the Quick Settings tiles have been reduced in size.
A Work in Progress
What is why it is essential to state that this design is still in progress and many components are absent, including the user switcher, the power menu, foreground service task manager, and many icons of the tiles. One issue that they also have with light mode is that they are unable to distinguish the white font against the background. Some extra work could have been done, such as providing proper support for applications with light mode interface.
Moreover, in the screenshots there is the red bar in the bottom right that says “flexi”, which is the code name for Google’s ongoing project SystemUI re-architecting called Flexiglass to improve its stability. One of the measures whereby the company is applying the principle of separation of concerns is to convert each of the primary components of SystemUI into stand-alone experiences that they are calling “scenes.”
Uncertainty and Hope for Android 16
As for the likelihood of Google to implement this particular design now, it is unknown, though, one thing is beyond doubt: the company is planning a massive update to the notification and Quick Settings panels in Android 16 at the very least. Quite a few users still expect Google reconsider the two-finger gesture needed to invoke the Quick Settings panel, as this may turn out ineffective.
For Android 16, which is under development and enhancement at the moment, it’s high time Google brought back the innovation factor while at the same time not forgetting the user aspect. Although change is good, it has to be positive and thus bring out the changes that would not bring difficulty in the usage rather Than the opposite. The Android 16 community is all ears here and waits while hoping that Google will not turn a blind eye to the suggestions from users regarding these changes.
Final Thought
Possible changes in the notifications and Quick Settings of Android 16 have attracted the interest of users, both positive and negative. Even with these panels separated, some innovation, though contested, can be seen, especially on the proposed two-finger swipe to get to Quick Settings.
Whether Google will further improve Android 16 during the development process, or whether the company will alleviate users’ concerns in the final product is yet to be seen. Regardless of the outcome, one thing is certain: Android 16 is set to bring all these changes to the table and the Android community will eagerly wait to see how these changes will affect their daily smartphone usage.
