Google announced Android L at Google I/O 2014 just at the end of last month, and along with it we got a look at the brand new lockscreen that featured a notification-centric design. Not content of course with waiting, developers have been working around the clock to deliver their own version of this sort of lockscreen, and today’s newest app that does just that is called Notific. Developer anandbibek on the XDA developers forum has come up with a new concept for a lockscreen that puts your notifications first and lets you know not only visually when those notifications come in, but lets you interact with them without having to unlock the phone or even pull down the notification shade. This method feels very similar to Motorola’s Active Display technology on the Moto X that “breaths” your new notifications as they arrive, but gives you more options and ways to interact with those notifications.
Head to the XDA-Developers official thread to grab yourself a free copy of the app, which has most of the features for free. The only restricted functionality in this version is the blacklist and whitelist feature, which will let you display only the apps you want notifications from on the lockscreen instead of everything that comes through. Once you install it you grant the application access to lock and unlock the screen, as well as read your notifications so that it can perform the actions needed when you want. When your phone is off and a notification comes in, the screen automatically turns in and displays the notification, but the little lockscreen icon has to be slid either to the left to dismiss the notification, or to the right to unlock the phone and jump into the app that’s trying to get your attention.
Don’t worry about it turning on in your pocket and you accidentally pressing buttons with your leg, the app is smart enough to check the sensors and such on your phone to see whether or not its in plain sight or in a pocket or purse. Taking the phone out of said compartment within 10 seconds of receiving the notification automatically turns the screen on and displays what you see above. It’s a great little tool that makes responding to messages and reading notifications that much quicker and easier. Hit up the Play Store link for the full version.