It has barely been a few days since the release of Android Q for Google Pixel devices, and we have already found a bunch of new features and functionalities. These include a system-wide dark theme, dual SIM dual standby support for the Pixel 3, a desktop mode, TLS 1.3 support, customizable navigation gestures, lock screen customizations, and more. Now, you can add Facebook Messenger-like chat head notifications to this growing list.

Google is testing these compact bubble chat heads as a way to present all notifications. Previously, developers had to add in chat head support on a per-app basis, as was done by Facebook Messenger; but now, you can enable chat heads throughout the whole system via an ADB command.

This stack of notifications can be moved around the screens, with news ones featuring a blue dot in the top right. When expanded, the bubbles line up horizontally at the top of the screen. You can then see the app name, a button to open the notification, and a shortcut to open the notification channels setting. You can interact with the notification as you can with conventional notifications; and all types of system and app alerts can be presented in this bubble chat head format. The notification co-exists within the shade as well as a bubble, and dismissing it from either place removes it from the other too.

To enable these chat heads on Android Q Beta 1 on supported devices, enter the following ADB commands:

        adb shell settings put secure experiment_enable_bubbles 1
adb shell settings put secure experiment_autobubble_all 1

And to remove them and revert back, enter the following:

        adb shell settings delete secure experiment_enable_bubbles
adb shell settings delete secure experiment_autobubble_all

It is currently unknown if Google plans to implement this as the default for all devices on Android Q. Hopefully, there would be a choice or a way to disable it for those who do not want intrusive notifications.


Story Via: 9to5Google