Direct Reply in Android N

Direct Reply lets you reply to messages from a notification without opening the app. Marie Brewis shows how to use it

One of the great new features in Android N is Direct Reply, which lets you reply to messages from a notification without opening the app. Although it’s easy to use, it doesn’t work with all apps. For example, if you hit Reply on a Gmail message notification Android N will open Gmail for you to draft your message. Below we’ve used Hangouts, though other messaging apps should also be supported.

Wait for a notification to come in. Drag down from the top of the screen to view the notification. Rather than tapping on the notification to open the associated app, tap Reply below the notification.

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A green bar will appear below with the words ‘Send message’. Tap this to bring up the onscreen keyboard.

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When you’re happy with your message, tap the triangle icon to send, all without ever opening the app.

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Another new feature to do with the way notifications are handled in Android N is the ability to set preferences for notifications from individual apps, direct from the notification bar.

When a new notification arrives, simply tap and hold it to bring up options relevant to that app: Show notifications silently; block all notifications; and Don’t silence or block. Make your choice and tap Finished.