I Tried Android's Notification Summaries On My Pixel, And They're Surprisingly Useful

Jack Wallen / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Some newer Pixel phones person a concealed notification weapon.
• This characteristic gives you a speedy overview of longer messages.
• These summaries are displayed connected your Pixel fastener screen.

Google is ever trying to make Android a much user-friendly and businesslike mobile OS. With nan advent of AI, immoderate features tin beryllium simplified successful ways that would not person been imaginable without nan thief of section LLMs.

One specified characteristic is nan caller Android notification summaries. This characteristic intends to summarize longer messages from celebrated messaging apps (such arsenic Google Messages) and coming nan summaries connected your fastener surface (not erstwhile you're utilizing your phone).

There are a mates of caveats to this. First, because nan summarization happens on-device, nan powerfulness required excludes nan Pixel 9a, which leaves nan 9, 9 Pro, 10, and 10 Pro. That's not a agelong database of devices, but it's very imaginable nan characteristic will yet trickle down to different devices (so agelong arsenic they person nan hardware tin of doing on-board AI).

Also: How to move connected repair mode connected your Android telephone - and why it's captious to do so

The 2nd caveat is that because those summaries are presented connected your fastener screen, anyone tin spot them. For immoderate (such arsenic myself), that's a privateness rumor that I'm not keen connected dealing with.

However, if you're not arsenic overly concerned astir your privateness arsenic I am, nan summaries could beryllium a existent boon for simplicity.

Let's talk astir this feature, shall we?

What nan notification summaries characteristic does

It's rather simple: erstwhile a notification comes successful that includes a agelong matter message, Android's built-in AI will summarize that notification and spot nan summary connected your phone's fastener screen. If you pat nan caller notification "pill" connected your location screen, a model overlay opens to uncover nan summary of that notification.

Also: How to participate Safe Mode connected your Android telephone - and when's nan correct clip to do it

Keep successful mind that little messages are not summarized, truthful you will still person to unfastened and publication them nan accustomed way. This characteristic is intended to springiness you a speedy position of nan longer messages you receive. With these little summaries, you tin find (from your fastener screen) if a connection needs your contiguous attention.

With nan caller feature, you person to alteration it (as it is abnormal by default), and you tin find what apps are included. When you harvester this characteristic pinch nan notification organizer, Android notifications each of a abrupt go arsenic bully arsenic they person ever been.

Finally, Android notifications are starting to germinate into what Apple has been offering connected iOS for immoderate time. This crippled of catch-up has been going connected for immoderate time, but it looks for illustration nan title is starting to moreover out.

Enabling notification summaries

As I mentioned, nan notification summaries characteristic is abnormal by default, but it's rather elemental to enable. Here's how:

You tin besides task into nan Notification organizer, which is besides a useful tool.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

To alteration aliases not to enable, that is nan question.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

If immoderate of your installed apps coming delicate information, see disabling them for this feature.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

At this point, you tin backmost retired of nan Settings app. If you've antecedently abnormal notifications connected your fastener screen, you should now spot a notification pill that is dedicated only to those apps that you've enabled for AI summaries. If you pat that pill, it'll uncover nan AI-generated summaries.

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I would propose only utilizing this characteristic if you get regular messages that are longer successful magnitude and you request to beryllium capable to quickly discern if a connection needs your contiguous attention. If you do not person specified messages, you should see leaving this characteristic disconnected (to debar nan imaginable privateness issues that travel it).