If the Developer Previews are any indication, Android N is shaping up to be an impressive update. While the new Android iteration brings a number of cool features and changes, we especially like the quick reply feature (support for inline actions on notifications). You can easily reply to messages, update task lists and do more with the feature and it especially comes in handy when it comes to messaging apps. So, it’s no surprise that people want the cool new feature on their Android devices.
While you have the option of waiting for the Android N update (Not if you are a Nexus user of course), we wouldn’t recommend it because we know the wait for Android updates can get very long. Thankfully, you don’t have to wait, as there’s a cool new app that brings the Android N quick reply feature to any Android device.
Yes, that’s right! So, here’s how to get the Android N quick reply feature on any Android device running Marshmallow or Lollipop with the quickReply app:
Install and Enable the App
Before you get going, you’ll obviously first have to install the quickReply app on your Android device. The app is in beta and it’s available only for devices running Android 5.0 and above, so if you have an Android device running older Android versions, you are out of luck (maybe, you should get a custom ROM).
After you’ve installed the quickReply app, you’ll have to grant the app “notification access”. When you first start the app, it will prompt you for the permission but in case you miss out then, you can do so by going to Settings->Sounds & notification->Notification access.
Start Sending Quick Replies
Once you have enabled the app, you will automatically see buttons for inline actions on notifications from messaging apps. The notifications have buttons for “Reply”, “Direct” and “Read”. As you might have guessed, the Reply button lets you reply to a message or email directly from the notification shade and it looks identical to Android N’s implementation. The Direct button lets you send one of the preset messages and the Read button lets you mark messages as read. Moreover, you can use the quick reply actions from the lockscreen as well.
The app even groups notifications that are available for quick replies on the lockscreen and notification shade in a ChatHeads like layout, so that you can easily tap one of the icons to start a quick reply.
Note: While the quick reply and direct message reply features work for various messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Hangouts, Threema, Skype, Line, WeChat, Kik, EvolveSms, YAATA, Textra, ChompSms, Handcent SMS along with Gmail and the stock Android messaging app, the “Mark as read” features only works with WhatsApp, Telegram, Skype, WeChat, Threema, Kik and Evolve SMS.
Customize the Quick Reply Experience
The quickReply app works very well out of the box and in fact, you can simply install the app, enable it and never even need to open it again. However, if you want to personalize the look & actions of the quick replies, the app lets you do that.
Firstly, you can head over the the “Basic settings” of the app and enable/disable one of the reply actions. You can also choose to disable ChatHeads notification here and change its display mode. There’s also the option to filter contacts and remove original notifications from apps.
Also, you can customize the look of the quick reply box. You can enable “Autocolor”, which colorizes the reply box depending on app icon color. You can also go for the “Minimal layout”, which hides icons and message and only shows you reply text.
There are other cool features too but they are only available in the Pro version ($2.29) of the app. The quickReply Pro version brings features like the ability to “Wake screen on notifications”, add emoji button besides quick reply on notifications and add more direct replies. Moreover, it brings the ability to change the style of send button, background & layout in quick replies and the size of ChatHeads notification.
SEE ALSO: 3 Cool Apps That Bring Android N Experience to Any Android Device
Start using the Android N Quick Reply feature on your Android device
The developer of quickReply app also offers the very popular Floatify app, which brings the quickReply feature along with other cool features like custom interaction options, themes, mini heads up, Smart wake and way more.
However, if you only care about Android N’s quick reply feature, you will be more than content with the quickReply app. The app works like a charm and we faced no hiccups in our usage and in fact, we were quite pleasantly surprised by how well the app works, considering it’s still in beta. So, what are you waiting for, install the app now and start using Android N’s quick reply feature on your Android device.
