Android 12 Beta 4: Notifications now more compact in landscape orientation

Damien Wilde | Aug 13 2021 - 3:11 am PT

We’re still finding new little tidbits and tweaks in Android 12 Beta 4, but one change that might be polarizing is in how landscape notifications are now handled.

If you do have auto-rotate enabled on your device, being able to reply or see notifications in the right orientation is a big bonus. As initially spotted by @Futur3Sn0w on Twitter (h/t Android Police), the change in Android 12 Beat 4 sees incoming notifications shrink into a central position on your display rather than spanning the entire width of the notification shade.

These compact notifications cut down on whitespace, but the number of Smart Reply options are greatly reduced — even if the context of an incoming notification remains the same — as you can see below:

android 12 landscape notifications — Android 12 Beta 3

On devices such as the Pixel 5, the smaller display can cut off some of the UI so it feels a little bit unfinished. That said, some may like the way in which Android 12 Beta handles notifications in landscape mode as less of your display is allotted to incoming pings, when stacked notifications with lots of text and profile images often leave little graphical remnants. Personally, I’m on the fence about the change, but then again I don’t often use my device in landscape mode — save for some light gaming.

It’s worth noting that if you use the Game Dashboard in Android 12 Beta 4, landscape notifications won’t work here just yet — even though the section appears when expanded. A little more work is likely needed for everything to be properly tied together.

Let us know what you think of the more compact notifications in Android 12 Beta 4 if you do spend a ton of time using your Pixel in landscape mode down in the comments section below.