It's been a while since Android 16 arrived, bringing cool features, but Live Updates are what I find myself constantly drawn back to. These priority notifications are a breath of fresh air. It's like my phone finally understands what info I need, front and center.

Imagine you're navigating with Google Maps. Instead of switching back and forth between apps, a little bubble on your screen shows your next turn. It’s a minor thing, but now it's indispensable.

I can be on the subway, engrossed in a video, without fear of missing my stop. A quick glance tells me everything I need to know. And when I need more details, a tap brings up a progress bar. What's not to love?

This feature extends beyond just Maps. When I was a passenger during the holidays, the pop-up kept me updated on traffic, without needing to leave Spotify or Chrome. It's really great!

But here's the killer feature: Live Updates appear across your entire Android interface. They sit on top in the notification shade, appear on the lock screen, and even show up on the always-on display. It's a huge time-saver. I can quickly glance at my phone without unlocking it, especially helpful when I'm walking in busy areas.

The problem? Not enough apps are using Live Updates. Uber gets it, a few food delivery services too. But that's about it when we talk about the big players.

I was hoping for support in sports apps, music players, and productivity tools. Disappointingly, they are missing in action. Sadly, even Google's own apps are lagging behind.

The Clock app doesn't use Live Updates for stopwatches, Google Home ignores them for Nest speaker timers, and the Play Store doesn't show download progress. It's like Google introduced a fantastic feature, and then just stood back, waiting for others to do the work.

I'm worried about the future of Live Updates. Will it become another forgotten Android API? I really hope not. It deserves more love. Google, please, make your app teams adopt it! Don't let this great feature fade away.