The latest Pixel update added a new feature to the Android system known as Notification Summaries, raising concerns about its impact on the advanced notification experience provided by the system. Despite the similarity to a similar feature that Apple launched in iOS 18 last year, Google has adopted a different, more subtle approach.
The Notification Summaries feature is currently limited to messaging apps, focusing on summarizing long messages and group conversations only, making it more straightforward and effective to use.
Summaries accurately show the content of messages, often in the first person, which keeps the communication personal and makes the experience more human compared to Apple’s third-person version.
However, the impact of the feature is limited. Summaries often save only a few characters compared to the original text, and do not provide significant savings in time or significant simplification of content.
It can also be less accurate in some messages or not reflect errors that the user may make while writing. The feature appears to work best for productivity and work-related messages, such as summarizing professional group messages, but it appears only in a limited capacity.
In short, Notification Summaries is Google’s right move compared to Apple’s attempt, but so far it doesn’t provide clear value for most users. Given the efficiency of the current notification system on Android, relying on this feature remains more of an optionality than a necessity.
