Live Updates are one of the most interesting new features in Android 16. Google is demonstrating them, but it seems they won't be arriving on our smartphones anytime soon.
Android 16 is almost ready. The next major update to Google's mobile operating system will arrive on the first compatible smartphones in June 2025. The Mountain View company is shaking up its usual schedule to the delight of the most impatient, but not everything is perfect. Already, some new features of Android 16 will only arrive with its first “feature drop” expected in September on the Pixel.
The latter is already available in beta version, and we note some significant absences: Live Update notifications. Very largely inspired by iOS Live Activities, not to say identical, they allow you to follow certain activities in real time that are regularly updated. The most telling examples are the delivery of a package or a meal, the arrival of a taxi or VTC, or even the route you are currently following on Maps.
We will have to wait before Android 16 Live Updates arrive
Since Android 16 Beta 2, we have a pretty clear idea of what Live Updates will look like. It's now more official since, following the Google I/O conference on May 20, they are visible in an article on the Android Developers Blog. Here they are.
Three examples are given. On the left, navigation via Maps during a vehicle journey. In the center, a meal delivery via the Uber Eats service, and on the right, the arrival of a taxi with a Waymo driver. As we said above, these are the situations in which Live Updates will be most useful. It remains to be seen when we'll get them, and that's where the problem lies.
During their brief presentation on the Google I/O stage, we learned that Android 16 Live Updates will be rolled out to the first devices sometime in 2026. Implementing such a feature is no small feat, and we understand the delay, even if we would have obviously preferred to be able to use it sooner.
0 Comments