Android 14’s post-system update notifications are rolling out

Let’s face it: by the time a stable Android release arrives, many of us already know nearly everything there is to know about, say, Android 14. But not everyone lives and breathes Android news, and they may wonder what that big software upgrade actually brought to their phones. That’s where Google’s post-update summaries come in, which device manufacturers can customize and push to their customers as they see fit. A wave of these notifications is now coming in for people who have upgrades to Android 14 on various devices.

The notifications in question are showing up on a number of different devices, including a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, an Asus Zenfone 10, and a OnePlus 8 Pro. It’s safe to assume that it’s available on many more devices. For each of these, the slides and details vary a bit based on which features the phones in question receive.

After tapping the notification, most people will see a screen telling them that “Your Android device just got better,” along with the option to start the tour or skip it. For the Samsung Galaxy S23, the tour doesn’t only highlight recent additions to Android itself but rather focuses on features in Google apps, introduced as part of the December feature bundle. Google highlights Google Maps sharing improvements, highlight videos in Google Photos, and animated emoji in Google Messages. A few other features shown off in the slideshow are improvements to accessibility feature Sound Notifications and the option to protect your passkeys with custom PINs.

Meanwhile, the Zenfone 10’s tour is much more about Android, as shared by Mishaal Rahman. It highlights the new monochrome theme, the option to sync health and fitness apps, improved location permission dialogs, flash notifications, the new magnification option in quick settings, and new hearing devices options.

To be clear, these notifications aren’t new. They’re part of Google’s “Android Upgrade Party” initiative that it launched in 2022. Google describes it as a way for manufacturers to highlight new features, writing on a public Android Developers website, “A major Android operating system upgrade can be an underwhelming experience for your users. The Upgrade Party flow increases user engagement and helps users understand how to navigate their newly refreshed OS.” Specific wording can be customized by manufacturers, just like they can remove irrelevant feature slides. While these Android Upgrade Parties weren’t widely used in the past, it looks like this is changing with Android 14.

There are other ways Google and manufacturers are spreading the word on new features. For example, we’ve seen notifications like this from the Pixel Tips app on Pixel phones in the past, and manufacturers have long included changelogs, available to look at before updating. Google also offers a similar overview to entice people to upgrade when they’ve decided to ignore that pending system release for a while, showcasing new features that they can look forward to by updating

Zachary Kew-Denniss contributed to this article