Google will require OEMs to adopt the new notification changes

The look and behavior of notifications were one of the biggest changes in Android Nougat. It brought new features like Direct Reply and bundling. Google wants to make sure that OEMs don’t mess with these new features. Earlier this week, they released a new Compatibility Definition Document (CDD) for Android.

The CDD includes rules for Android OEMs to follow. The section on notifications called out all those OEMs that feel the need to tinker with things.

Handheld device implementations MUST support the behaviors of updating, removing, replying to, and bundling notifications as described in this section.

Also, handheld device implementations MUST provide:

• The ability to control notifications directly in the notification shade.
• The visual affordance to trigger the control panel in the notification shade.
• The ability to BLOCK, MUTE and RESET notification preference from a package, both in the inline control panel as well as in the settings app.

Thankfully, most of the Android phones here in the US don’t change the notifications much. You see that more on devices like the LeEco Le Pro 3 and Huawei Mate 9. These new rules will ensure that notifications look the way that Google and app developers intend. This only applies to Android 7.1 right now, so we should see it come into play more in the future.

[via AndroidPolice]