Notifications are pieces of information that are relevant to the user, but typically are not a direct result of user input. They may be presented on the top layer of the system UI as Heads-Up Notifications (HUNs) and/or in a centralized notification history of non-dismissed notifications (Notification Center). Most notifications (except for the voice assistant display cards) are configured using a UI template and a set of properties. A set of rules determines which notifications to show in which context. Through this interface, metadata such as the priority, can be passed to the system UI. The system UI uses this metadata to determine when and how to show the notification. For example, it may choose to suppress a low priority notification while a higher priority notification is active, to avoid distracting the driver. Notifications may be dismissed by the user through system UI functionality, like swiping it away.

Notification list

The notification list manages the positioning, sorting, and animation of notifications as they come in and go out of view. By default, it positions the notifications at the top on the driver’s side. Multiple notifications can be shown simultaneously, but there are several mechanisms (notification priority, notification suppression / do not disturb) at work to prevent overwhelming the user with notifications.

Priority

Notification sorting is determined by priority and chronology. Important notifications with High or Critical priority are always shown, even when interacting with the system or while Do not disturb is active. When notifications have the same priority, the newest one is shown first (until dismissed). However, when a higher priority notification comes in, it takes precedence.

Notification suppression

The notification suppression is a platform mechanism that, when enabled, suppresses notifications with Medium and Low priority. The notification lock may be linked to a global toggle (for example Do not disturb) or automated contextually. By default, the notification suppression is enabled when the user has interacted with the screen in the last 5 seconds.

Anatomy

Most notifications follow the same template and can be built with a single configurable UI component. We strongly recommend to use the template for creating new notifications. It comprises a set of optional fields that can be combined to cover almost all use cases. To adjust the template to suit a custom system UI, an opportunity to inject a custom UI may be part of this template in the future. The following image is an example of a possible structure, where every field is optional.

Examples

Here are some examples of notifications that can be created using the notification template.

Customization

The notification stack can be customized in terms of styling, positioning, and general appearance. However, the layout and content template of notifications are currently fixed, and the notifications created by stock experiences (media, communication app) cannot currently be changed.