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Google has been testing Android 16's Live Updates feature for a while, and while it was mostly unpolished before, the feature now appears to be fully working in the beta version.
According to Android Authority, Google appears to be almost done polishing and testing the Live Updates feature. The feature is now active on Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2, but right now there are no apps that can leverage its functionality.
The feature can be seen in action thanks to a modified version of Google's Samples app with the new necessary API permissions that help it work as it should.
For those unaware, Live Updates bring progress centric notifications to Android. They can be leveraged by apps that involve sending users updates, like food delivery apps or Uber. Live updates appear on the AOD and Lock screen, as a small pill in the status bar, and as a heads-up notification.
Live updates look neat on the lock screen, and users will easily be able to control them from the notifications shade, like other alerts. The status bar pill displays users the current status, while the same on always-on display shows with the overall progress of an order.
Google is yet to give app developers a green-light on the feature, but now that it's working, we can expect more apps to support this it soon. Perhaps there's more testing to be done, but apps could very well start using it soon.
The Live Updates feature is currently available on the Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2. We're not sure whether it will arrive with the upcoming Pixel feature drop, that's expected to roll out in September. But we do know that the next major feature drop could bring Material 3 Expressive to Pixel phones.
