Pixel UI may finally catch up to rival Android skins with a long-overdue notification tweak

TL;DR Android 17 QPR3 Beta 2 includes code for a new “Notification badges” sub-menu in Pixel Launcher settings.

Users will be able to choose between displaying an exact unread count number, a classic dot, or disabling badges on home screen icons entirely.

The feature is still under development, as numeric badges do not yet render on home screen icons.

Google recently rolled out Android 17 QPR3 Beta 2, bringing a handful of polish updates and tucked-away tweaks. While digging into the new preview build, we spotted code indicating that Google is preparing to let users customize their app icon notification badge styles, adding support for unread count numbers alongside the long-standing dot indicator.

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