How to use new features of Android Nougat notification panel: bundled notifications, directly reply and notification control?

Android Nougat introduced bundled notifications, directly reply and notification control in the notification panel.

This Android Nougat guide shows you how to use these three new features in Android Nougat notification panel.

New features of Android Nougat notification panel

Android Nougat improved a lot in notification handling.

In notification panel (notification shade), there are at least four noteworthy new features:

• New quick settings bar in the top of notification shade.
• Bundled notifications.
• Direct reply.
• Notification control in notification shade

Please refer to this page on the new quick settings bar in top of notifications, and this page on customizing quick settings panel.

This guide will explain the other 3 new features in Android Nougat notification panel, and how to use them.

What is bundled notifications in Android Nougat notification panel?

Android Nougat will automatically group all notifications from the same app and you see the bundled notifications in the notification shade.

For example, as shown below, there are two new messages.

Instead of showing as two notifications, Android Nougat group them as one bundled notification.

You can tap the down arrow button to expand the bundled notification as shown below to see details of these two notifications.

What is notification control in Android Nougat notification panel?

In addition to check the notification contents, you can even control the notification of the corresponding app without navigating away from the notification panel in Android Nougat.

In other words, you can access notification control directly in the notification shade.

For example, as shown below, there is an notification about Google Play store.

You can tap and hold the notification to get notification control as shown below.

Just in the Android Nougat notification panel, you can set notification from Play store as:

• Show notifications silently.
• Block all notifications.
• Don’t silence or block.

The notification control will compliment with the detailed notification settings for this app, which can be accessed by tapping More settings as shown below.

What is direct reply in Android Nougat notification panel?

Android Nougat also allows you to directly respond to the notifications without navigating away from the notification shade.

Of course, this feature depends on the app. You can use direct reply in Android Nougat notification panel for most messaging and  email apps.

For example, as shown below, when you expand the text message in the notification panel, you can find the reply button below the notification details.

You can tap it, then type your message directly in the notification panel without opening the Messaging app.

For other apps, you may have other options as well.

In short, direct reply in Android Nougat notification panel allows you to directly respond to the notification in the notification shade without opening the app.

Can you use new features of Android Nougat notification panel: bundled notifications, directly reply and notification control now

If you have any questions or encounter any problems on new features of Android Nougat notification panel, please let us know in the comment box below.

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For questions on Android Nougat (Android 7.0 and 7.1), please check Android Nougat guides page.

For questions on Android Marshmallow (Android 6.0), please check Android Marshmallow guide page.

For question on Android Lollipop (Android 5.0 and 5.1), please check Android Lollipop guide page.

For other Android questions or problems, please check Android 101 page.