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Google is reportedly working on a big change to Android 16’s notifications panel. The notification shade that the OS has used for years was introduced in Android 12, so it may be time to refresh it. However, it’s possible that the potential new way of accessing Quick Settings in Android 16 will be annoying for many.
Android’s current notification shade combines notifications and Quick Settings in one panel
Currently, Android AOSP combines notifications and Quick Settings into a single unified panel. When you pull down the notification shade, you will see four Quick Settings tiles and your pending notifications. Pulling it down again will reveal all Quick Settings tiles, allowing you to swipe between them. However, there are Android brands that change this behavior in their custom skins.
For example, Xiaomi’s HyperOS/MIUI splits notifications and Quick Settings tiles into two separate panels. You get one or the other section after pulling down the notification shade from the left or right side of the screen. This design is useful for directly accessing all your Quick Settings with a single swipe. However, some complain about situations like accidentally pulling down the notification shade from the wrong side, forcing them to swipe again to open the section they wanted.
Anyway, there are rumors that Samsung and OPPO will implement the dual-pane notification shade in their upcoming big updates. Now, new findings suggest that Google may implement its own way of accessing Quick Settings in Android 16. As spotted by Android Authority, there are traces of the new notification shade in the latest Android 15 QPR beta. The new behavior is not enabled by default, but the source managed to force it.
Android 16 would require a two-finger swipe to access Quick Settings
According to the report, in the new design, pulling down the notification bar will not show any Quick Settings. Instead, to show them, you have to pull down the notification bar with two fingers. This is a radical change compared to the current behavior. Some might even consider it annoying and impractical. If implemented, it will require a bit more effort to access your Quick Settings.
After pulling down the Quick Settings panel, you’ll see all the tiles and a brightness slider. You can also swipe left to show the rest of the tiles. The “pencil” icon will let you add or remove Quick Settings tiles from the panel. The new notification shade still has a lot of work ahead of it. It’s also unclear whether Google has decided to implement it in Android 16 or if it’s just an experiment. That said, requiring a two-finger swipe to access Quick Settings could be unnecessarily confusing.