A sneak peek at live updates in Android 16

Google recently shared that Android 16 will bring a cool new feature called Live Updates. These are handy alerts for things happening right now, like tracking rideshare, getting food delivery updates, or following navigation. The magic happens with a new kind of notification that shows a progress bar—sometimes split into parts—moving as the task goes on. Google hasn’t shown us what these look like yet, but I’ve dug into it and made my own video to give you a first look at Live Updates in Android 16.

Earlier, we mentioned that Live Updates might appear as small tags in the status bar or stay visible on the always-on display. But in Android 16 Beta 2, this isn’t fully working yet. The tools to make these progress notifications exist, but the system still treats them like regular alerts instead of Live Updates.

I switched on the hidden Live Updates feature in Android 16 Beta 2 to see it in action. Using a test app from developer Viktor Mykhailiv, I created a progress notification. To make it show up boldly on the always-on display and as a tag in the status bar, I tweaked the app to mark the notification as “ongoing”—a must for Live Updates. I also used a new Android 16 tool to add short, key text for the status bar tag.

With these fixes, the app showed real Live Updates, not just basic progress alerts. My video shows how they look in the status bar, notification area, and always-on display. When a Live Update pops up as a tag in the status bar, other icons disappear. Tapping it pulls up the full alert below. In the notification list, it sits above other alerts but below the music player.

On the always-on display, it shows fully outlined, unlike regular alerts that stay as icons. On the lock screen, it’s the only alert not tucked away in Android 16’s new notification shelf. Apps can start using Live Updates without you doing anything—they’ll work automatically for ongoing alerts with short, important details. If an app overuses it, you can turn it off in Settings under “show live info.” The look might still change, but with the next beta being more stable, big shifts seem unlikely before Beta 3.