Direct Reply is a great feature introduced by Google in Android N apart from Multi-Window. While you can only enjoy the Direct Reply feature for apps in Android N Developer Preview, Facebook seems to be rolling it out to the users of its Messenger app.
Just in case you are unaware, the Direct Reply feature in Android N lets you reply to messages from the notification itself. But obviously, this feature can only be utilized by communication apps. Initially, whenever you received any message through a communication app, you had to tap on the notification to reply which then opened the app. Not with Direct Reply, you simply send a reply from the notification, no need to switch to the app.
The Direct Reply is actually very useful. You don’t have to leave the current app and switch to other in order to reply to a message. If you are gaming or watching videos on YouTube, you can simply pause them and send a reply from the notification. Cool, isn’t it?
However, only those who own either a Nexus 6, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus 9, Pixel C or General Mobile 4G [Android One] can use the Android N Developer Preview right now, and hence, use the Direct Reply Feature. But, if you don’t have any of the above mentioned devices or don’t want to install Android N Developer Preview, you can still get this Direct Reply feature on your Android Device. Here’s how to get Android N Direct Reply feature on your Android device.
Coming back to the Facebook Messenger, the Direct Reply feature for Facebook Messenger is still in beta, so if you want it you can get it by joining the Play Store Beta. However, the beta version of app is an unreleased one and may contain bugs so it may not be as smooth as the one available on Play Store right now.
