Last updated: March 7th, 2025 at 11:15 UTC+01:00
Google introduced Live Updates notifications with the latest beta release of Android 16. And the first app to support it is Google Maps. So, we can finally see how Live Updates notifications work on Android phones and how they will look on Samsung devices with Now Bar.
Google Maps gets support for Android 16’s Live Updates notifications
The latest version of Google Maps (v25.09.02 or higher) for Android can now display Live Updates on devices running Android 16 Beta 2.1.
During an ongoing navigation to a location using Google Maps, when you return to the home screen of your phone, the app displays navigation information in a pill-shaped UI element at the top of the screen (in the status bar). When you tap that pill shape, it pops up into a mini floating window at the top of the screen to display additional relevant information.
This pill-shaped notification can stay persistent on the screen for several seconds even when you are using other apps. However, as 9To5Google notes, this floating notification only appears if you turn off the picture-in-picture setting for that app.
On devices running Android 16 Beta 2.1, a new toggle called ‘Show Live Info’ has appeared in Google Maps’ App Info screen. Overall, it looks like Dynamic Island notifications on iPhones.
Something similar already exists on Samsung devices running One UI 7.0, such as the Galaxy A55 and the Galaxy S25. However, it appears that both systems are different, which is why Google had to update Google Maps separately to bring that feature to Android 16.
Samsung will likely integrate Live Updates notifications with the Now Bar in One UI 8.0, allowing direct access from the lock screen.
