What Are Android Live Updates?
“Live Updates” is Google's evolving brand for the richer end of Android notifications — ongoing, in-place updates for events that are actively happening. They build on the same notification primitives as ongoing notifications but lean into Material You theming, status-bar chips, and the new ProgressStyle.
Concrete examples: a delivery progress card with three steps and an emoji per step, a navigation chip with the next turn icon, a sports score that updates as the game changes, a workout timer with elapsed time and pace.
ProgressStyle (Android 16)
Notification.ProgressStyle is a new notification style introduced in Android 16 specifically for live progress. Unlike the classic setProgress bar, ProgressStyle understands the idea of steps and milestones:
- Segmented progress bars with a color per segment (e.g. red → yellow → green).
- Milestone icons placed along the track (a kitchen icon, a bicycle icon, a doorstep icon for delivery).
- Tracker icon that moves along the bar as the event progresses.
- Per-step text rendered with the right typography for the current state.
ProgressStyle renders inline in the shade, in the status-bar chip, on the lock screen, and (on devices that support it) on the always-on display.
How to Build a Live Update
Pick a style
ProgressStyle for tracking, MediaStyle for audio, CallStyle for calls. Ongoing notifications + Live Updates use the same channel and ID conventions you already know.
Pair with a foreground service
Pick the right foreground service type (location, mediaPlayback, dataSync, phoneCall, etc.) and start it before posting the notification.
Update in place
Rebuild the notification with refreshed values and re-post with the same ID. Update at most once per second; the system collapses faster updates.
For details on how the foreground service half works, see Android Foreground Services.
Best Use Cases for Live Updates
Food & grocery delivery
ProgressStyle with kitchen → bag → bike → doorstep milestones.
Rideshare
Driver name, ETA, current vehicle position, status chip in status bar.
Live sports
Score, period, possession indicator, key event (touchdown, goal) animation.
Navigation
Next turn, distance, ETA. Often built natively into Maps but you can ship your own.
Workouts & timers
Elapsed time, current interval, heart rate. Pair with the health FGS type.
Multi-step orders / installs
OS update, file sync, multi-step onboarding wizards in enterprise apps.
Live Updates vs iOS Live Activities
Live Updates (Android)
Notification-based. Lives in the shade, status-bar chip, and lock screen. Rich via ProgressStyle and Material You theming.
Live Activities (iOS)
Activity-based. Lives on Lock Screen and Dynamic Island. Rich via SwiftUI views and ActivityKit.
Updates from server
Both can be updated remotely — Android via FCM message → service → notification update; iOS via APNs liveactivity push directly to the activity.
Cross-platform pattern
Use the same data model on both sides. Render a Live Update on Android and a Live Activity on iOS from the same backend events.
See the iOS half in iOS Live Activities and the surface they live on in Dynamic Island.
Live Updates vs Widgets & At a Glance
vs Android widgets
Widgets are ambient and refresh slowly. Live Updates are event-driven and update in real time. Different jobs.
vs At a Glance
At a Glance is system-curated and not a developer surface. Live Updates are the app-controlled equivalent.
vs regular push
A regular push is one-shot and dismissible. A Live Update sticks around and updates in place until the event ends.
vs ongoing notifications
Live Updates are a richer, more design-forward subset of ongoing notifications. The plumbing underneath is the same.
Compare with Android Widgets, Pixel Now Playing & At a Glance, and Android Ongoing Notifications.