JP7702087B2 - Context-Based Notifications on a User Display - Google Patents

Description

A Graphical User Interface (GUI) is the primary type of interface available to a user to interact with a computer system. A GUI is operable to present notifications to a user. For example, upon receiving message data, a messaging application presents a text message on the GUI. Similarly, upon receiving a news alert, a news application presents a news notification on the GUI.

Typically, when a first application is presenting content on a GUI (e.g., a video game application presenting video game content) and notification data is destined for a second application (e.g., a messaging application), the entire notification data (e.g., an entire text message) may not be presented on the GUI unless the presentation of the content is paused and a switch is performed from the first application to the second application. Thus, user input may be required to switch to the second application before the notification data is presented. Additional user input may also be required to close the notification data and return to presenting the content.

Thus, although GUIs can be an effective user interface, switching between applications may not be seamless and the presentation of information may be limited. An improved GUI that allows for better presentation of notifications is needed.

Techniques for presenting notifications are described. In one example, a computer system presents content within an application window on a display based on an execution of the application. The computer system also receives notification data and determines a match between a first context associated with the notification data and a second context associated with the application. Based on the match, the computer system presents a notification within the application window that corresponds to the notification data and is presented while the presentation of the content continues.

1 is an illustration of an example computing environment for presenting notifications, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 1 is an illustration of a computer system for presenting notifications according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 4 is an illustration of an example of a module for presenting notifications, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 1 is an illustration of an example of an inline notification according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 1 is an illustration of an example of an in-application notification according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 1 is an illustration of an example of an inflow notification, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 1 is an illustration of an example of a pop-up notification according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 4A-4C are illustrations of example states of notifications, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 1 illustrates an example of a flow for presenting an in-context notification, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 1 is an illustration of an example of an operational mode of a device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 1 is an illustration of an example of notification settings related to an operational mode, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 1 is an illustration of an example of replacing a notification according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 1 is an illustration of an example of replacing and storing notifications according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 1 is an illustration of an example of modifying a notification according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 1 is an illustration of an example of grouping notifications according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 1 illustrates an example of a flow for presenting notifications according to an operational mode, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 11A-11C are illustrations of example notification summaries according to operational modes, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. 4A-4C are illustrations of example notification summary states, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 1 is an illustration of an example of summarizing notifications according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 1 illustrates an example flow for summarizing and presenting notifications according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 1 is an illustration of an example flow for presenting in-context and pop-up notifications on a video game console, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a hardware system suitable for implementing a computer system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

In general, systems and methods for improved management of notifications are described. In one example, a computer system presents a GUI on a display. Upon execution of an application, content of the application is presented within the GUI. The computer system also determines a context associated with a user of the application and/or a context associated with the execution of one or more applications. The context indicates user interaction with and interest in the application(s).
Additionally, the computer system stores notification rules that specify when, how, where, and/or which notifications should be presented based on the context. Upon receiving the notification data, the computer system manages the presentation of the corresponding notification based on the context and the notification rules. Managing notifications includes multiple aspects. In a first aspect, the computer system determines whether the notification should be presented in a GUI and presentation type (e.g., in-context or popup) or whether such presentation should be limited.
In a second aspect, once a limiting determination is made, the computer system can add notifications to a notification summary and can update the notification summary over time based on the priority of the notifications. When the context changes, the notification summary is presented on the display. In a third aspect, notifications that are not presented to the user can be added to the notification list. The notification list is updated over time to replace, modify, and/or group some or all of the notifications.
Furthermore, upon presentation of the notification, the presentation of the underlying content may continue so that no user input is required to switch back and resume the presentation of this content, and the presented notification may be updated if there is a change in context so that any information and/or selectable actions presented in the notification remain relevant to the current context.

For purposes of illustration, an example of a video game system that hosts a video game application, a chat application, a video streaming application, a social media application, and multiple other applications will be discussed. Upon login of a video game player, the video game system presents a home user interface on the display. From this interface, the video game player can launch the video game application and video game content can be presented within an application window in the foreground on the display. Upon receiving notification data from a device of a second user, the video game system determines that the notification data is associated with a chat application.
If the application window in the foreground corresponds to a video game application rather than a chat application, the video game system presents a corresponding notification in a pop-up window over the application window. The notification is presented in a collapsed state indicating that a message was sent from a second user, but presentation of the video game content continues and the application window remains in the foreground. Upon user interaction with the notification, the video game system presents the notification in an expanded state, presenting the actual content of the notification and selectable options for responding. In this state, presentation of the video game content also continues and the application window remains in the foreground.

Then, the video game player completes a level of the video game and the video game system receives user input that initiates a flow to download and launch the next level. A new application window is presented on the display. In one example, an application different from the video game application, such as a menu application, may be executed and present a new application window. The new application window presents confirmation of the user input (e.g., downloading next level). While tasks in the flow are being executed, the video game system receives system notifications about these tasks and presents in-flow notifications in the new application window. The in-flow notifications provide updates about the tasks.

The video game player then launches a chat application. Chats with other users are presented in an application window of the chat application in the foreground. During the active chat with the second user, the video game system receives second notification data from the second device and presents corresponding text in the application window. When text is available within the display area of the application window, the video game system can alert the video game player to the text by presenting a visual indicator (e.g., a blue rectangle, a flashing rectangle, or any other visual alert) around the text. This visual indicator corresponds to an inline notification that indicates new notification data is available within the displayable area.

Third notification data is received from the second device after scrolling up to display the previous text, where corresponding text needs to be presented but is not in the current display area. Thus, the video game system presents an in-application notification in the display area indicating that new text is available and will be presented upon scrolling down.

A video game player switches from a chat application to a video streaming application. The video game system executes the video game application and presents an application window for the application in the foreground. The application window presents video content streamed from a network source. The video operating mode indicates that social media notifications should be restricted while the video is being streamed. Thus, during streaming, the video game system receives first notification data corresponding to an invitation of a second user to a first social media event beginning in five minutes.
The corresponding first social media notification is suppressed and sent to the notification list rather than being presented while the video stream is occurring. Ten minutes later, while the video stream continues, the video game system receives second notification data corresponding to an invitation from the second user to a second social media event beginning in one hour. Because the first event has expired and the two social media notifications are from the same second user, the video game system replaces the first social media notification in the notification list with the second social media notification. When the video stream ends, the notification list is presentable on the display so that the second social media notification can be displayed and the invitation to the second media event can be accepted.

In another example, while a video game player is playing a video game and video game content is presented in the foreground, the video game system receives social media notification data. Given a game title for the video game and a user interaction with the video game, the video game system determines that a corresponding social media notification should be queued rather than presented if the context indicates an immersive gaming session. Thus, the video game system adds the social media notification to the queue and optionally transmits the social media notification to a mobile device associated with the video game player. The notifications in the queue are organized according to priority, and each priority may be updated based on the relevance of the corresponding notification to the current context and the recency of the notification.
Upon a context change, such as the end of a video game level, the video game system can present a notification summary identifying the total number of queued notifications. Upon user interaction with the notification summary, the video game system presents the notification summary in an expanded state. In the expanded state, the video game system presents the top three (or other number) notifications with the highest priority and provides an option to view the remaining notifications. Each of these three notifications is presented in a collapsed state and can be further selected and presented in an expanded state. The content (e.g., information and selectable action(s)) in each summarized notification is updated based on the current context.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide several advantages over existing computer systems and their underlying GUIs. For example, the effectiveness of the GUI and the efficiency of the underlying processing and memory are improved. In particular, the GUI can provide an improved user experience in which timely and relevant notifications are presented to the user on the GUI while the ongoing presentation of the content continues, while other notifications are summarized and/or added to a notification list for later presentation. In this manner, the user can view relevant notifications in a timely manner without interrupting the ongoing presentation of the content, and can expand any of such notifications as needed. Because relevant notifications are presented, processing and memory usage can be reduced compared to existing systems that must present all notifications and alternate between foreground and background applications.

For clarity of explanation, the embodiments are described in the context of a video game system, but the embodiments are not so limited and apply to any other type of computer system as well. In general, a computer system may include one or more user devices, each communicatively coupled to one or more displays. The computer system may also include a back-end system, such as a server, for tracking context across one or more devices, and for receiving, queuing, prioritizing, and/or interacting with notifications, among other functions.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a computing environment for presenting notifications, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the computing environment includes a video game system 110 communicatively coupled to a display 120, a mobile device 130 integrating the display, a back-end server 150, and a user device 140. The video game system 110 and the mobile device 130 are available to a video game player 112 (e.g., operated by the video game player 112 or associated with the video game player 112 under a user account). In comparison, the user device 140 is available to a user 142 (e.g., another video game player). The back-end server 150 provides management functionality to control when, how, where, and/or which notifications should be presented.

In one example, a user 142 operates a user device 140 to send notification data 144 intended for a video game player 112. A backend server 150 receives the notification data 144 and determines that the video game player 112 is associated with a video game console 110 and a mobile device 130. The backend server 150 also determines a context associated with the video game player 112 and/or the video game console 110. Based on the context, the backend server 150 determines whether corresponding notification data 152 should be sent to the video game console 110 for presentation on the display 120 as a notification 114 or whether such presentation should be limited.
When notification 114 is presented, backend server 150 determines the type of notification 114, e.g., whether it is an in-context notification, a pop-up notification, etc. Video game player 112 may interact with video game system 110 by manipulating a user input device, such as a video game controller. The user input device may include a button operable to interact with notification 114. Interacting with notification 114 may include viewing the notification in one or more states, closing notification 114, requesting a notification summary that includes notification 114, requesting a notification list that includes notification 114, or any other type of interaction.

Further, the backend server 150 determines whether corresponding notification data 154 should be sent to the mobile device 130 for presentation as a notification 132 on the display of the mobile device 130. In an example, if the notification 114 does not need to be presented by the video game console 110, the backend server 150 sends the notification data 154 to the mobile device 130. In this example, the notification data 152 can be sent to a queue for notification summaries, and its priority in the queue can be updated based on whether a user interaction with the notification 132 presented by the mobile device has occurred.

In one example, a notification represents a presentable output on a user interface, such as a GUI, to notify a user by including presentable information and/or selectable actions. Text messages, social media posts and/or the like, download status of multimedia (such as audio, video, video game content, etc.), multimedia purchases are examples of notifications. Notification data represents data available to populate a notification upon presentation as well as metadata that defines presentation parameters of the notification.
In existing systems, notifications are typically presented in a dedicated notification area, such as the bottom right corner on the display or the top bar of the GUI. The notification data. In comparison, embodiments of the present disclosure allow for the presentation of notifications in other areas of the GUI. In particular, the notification can be a pop-up notification, which can be presented in a pop-up window on the application window in the foreground. The notification can be an in-context notification, which can be presented in the application window. Various types of in-context notifications are possible, such as inline notifications, in-application notifications, and in-flow notifications.
Each type corresponds to a presentation style: inline notifications correspond to an inline presentation style and represent notifications with presentable information that is located in the user display area within the application window; in-application notifications correspond to an in-application presentation style and represent notifications with presentable information that is located outside the user display area but within the application window; inflow notifications correspond to an in-flow presentation style and represent notifications with presentable information about tasks in a running flow.

Popup, inline, in-application, and inflow notifications can be dynamically updated based on the latest context. Additionally, each of the pop-up, inline, in-application, and inflow notifications can be associated with multiple attributes, including a source application (e.g., the application that generated the notification), a destination application (e.g., the application that needs to present the notification), a type of notification (e.g., a message), a subject of the notification (e.g., a message thread), an accumulation parameter (e.g., a counter such as the number of messages), a time constraint (e.g., the notification must be presented immediately or it will expire), a priority, a timestamp (the time the notification was received), and/or an expiration time (e.g., the notification will no longer be relevant after it expires). Attributes such as these can be used to manage the presentation of the notifications.

In general, backend server 150 may also determine the current context. Backend server 150 may also store rules that specify when, how, where, and/or which notifications should be presented based on the context. These rules may be defined according to notification settings, which may have default values, and may be configured via user input of video game player 112 at video game console 110. Some or all of the notification settings may be dynamically configured and updated based on an artificial intelligence model, such as a model using a machine learning algorithm trained based on historical data of multiple video game players.

Although backend server 150 is shown as a separate computer system from video game console 110, some or all of the functionality of backend server 150 may be implemented by video game system 110 (e.g., video game system 110 may include a video game console specific to video game player 112 and a cloud server available to multiple players).
For example, these rules may be stored locally on the video game system 110, while notification settings may be stored locally with the user profile or may also be stored remotely on the backend server 150 with the user profile. Context determination may be performed locally on the video game console 110. Additionally, the video game player 112 may be associated with a different number and other types of devices. For example, in addition to or instead of being associated with the mobile device 130, the video game player 112 may be associated with a tablet, a desktop computer, or any other user device.

2 illustrates a computer system for presenting notifications, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the computer system includes a video game console 210 and a display 220. Although not shown, the computer system may include a back-end system, such as a set of cloud servers, communicatively coupled to the video game console 210. The video game console 210 is communicatively coupled (e.g., via a communication bus) to a video game controller (not shown) and the display 220. A video game player manipulates the video game controller to interact with the video game console 210. These interactions may include playing a video game presented on the display 220 and interacting with other applications on the video game console 210.

Video game console 210 includes a processor and memory (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium) that stores computer-readable instructions that can be executed by the processor and that, when executed by the processor, cause video game console 210 to perform operations associated with various applications. In particular, the computer-readable instructions can correspond to various applications of video game console 210, including video game application 240, music application 242, video application 244, social media application 246, chat application 248, and notification application 250, among other applications of video game console 210 (e.g., a home user interface (UI) application that facilitates a home page on display 220).

A video game controller is one example of an input device. Other types of input devices are possible, including a keyboard, touch screen, touch pad, mouse, optical system, or other user device suitable for receiving user input.

In one example, upon execution of the video game application 240, the rendering process of the video game console 210 presents the video game content (e.g., shown as car racing video game content) in an application window on the GUI of the display 220. The application window is presented in the foreground of the GUI, indicating that the video game application is active and that user input with a video game controller is available to interact with the video game application. By comparison, other applications may also be running in the background or their application windows may be either presentable in the background of the GUI, indicating that user input is not available to interact with such applications.

Upon receiving notification data from another device, the notification application 250 determines attributes for the corresponding notification 212 including, for example, whether the notification data is directed to a video game application 240, a music application 242, a video application 244, a social media application 246, or a chat application 246.
The notification application 250 can also determine context, such as the level of user interaction and the active application (e.g., video game application 240 having a foreground application window), and can apply rules that determine whether the corresponding notification 212 should be presented in a pop-up window on the foreground application window or as an in-context notification in the foreground application window, or whether the corresponding notification 212 should be restricted (e.g., queued in a notification summary or added to a notification list).
When notification 212 needs to be presented, notification application 250 passes, for example, via an application programming interface (API), notification data and instructions to the active application (such as video game application 240) to present notification 212 (e.g., as a pop-up or in-context notification). The active application then presents notification 212 as a pop-up notification on the foreground application window or as an in-context notification within the foreground application window.

2 shows various applications executing on the video game console 210, embodiments of the present disclosure are not so limited. Instead, the applications may execute on a backend system (such as a cloud server) and/or their execution may be distributed between the video game console 210 and a backend system.

3 illustrates an example of a module for presenting notifications, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated, upon receiving notification data 302, the module is used to determine whether an in-context notification 312 having an in-context presentation style (e.g., any of the inline, in-application, or in-flow presentation styles), a notification summary 322, or a popup notification 324 needs to be used. In particular, a first module implements in-context logic 310 that determines whether an in-context notification 312 needs to be presented. If not, a second module implements operational mode logic 320 that determines whether a notification summary 322 needs to be presented. If not, it is determined to present a popup notification 324.

In one example, each of the in-context logic 310 and the operational mode logic 320 is implemented as computer-readable instructions, such as software code, that may be executed by a processor. Such instructions may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a computer memory, and may be part of a notification application, such as notification application 250 of FIG. 2. The computer-readable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium and the processor represent modules. The modules may be computing components of a video game system, such as video game system 110 of FIG. 1, a back-end server, such as back-end server 150 of FIG. 1, or may be distributed between the video game system and the back-end server.

In one example, the in-context logic 310 includes or has access to a rule set that specifies whether the in-context notification 312 should be presented based on a context associated with the notification data 302, one or more users, and/or one or more applications. The rule set can be predefined as conditional statements and can be customized based on user preferences. The user preferences can be indicated in user settings and/or the customization can be performed based on machine learning algorithms.

Similarly, the operational mode logic 320 includes or has access to a rule set that specifies whether the notification summary 322 should be presented based on the operational mode of the device. The rule set can be predefined as conditional statements and can be customized based on user preferences. The user preferences can be indicated in user settings and/or the customization can be performed based on machine learning algorithms.

Although FIG. 3 shows two modules, a different number and/or arrangement of modules are possible. For example, a third module can be implemented to determine whether a notification needs to be added to a notification list. The operation of these modules is further described in connection with the next figure.

With reference to Figures 4-7, these figures show examples of inline, in-application, in-flow, and pop-up notifications. The type of notification presented depends on the context associated with the notification data, the user, and/or the application available to the user. Understanding where the user is looking or where the user's attention is and what the impact is if the user misses a notification are factors that are considered.
In-context notifications (inline, in-application, or in-flow notifications) when the user is not distracted and/or the notification is relevant to the current context. Pop-up notifications are possible when the notification would cause user frustration, confusion, or negativity and/or is less relevant. A ruleset can be defined that implements this approach.

In one example, notifications are generally related to activities, updates, events, or feedback regarding tasks from an executing flow. Inline notifications are available when activities, updates, or events occur within a display area in an application window that is in the foreground. In-application notifications are available when activities, updates, or events occur outside of a display area but within an application window. In-flow notifications can be presented that provide feedback when the application window presents information about the flow.
On the other hand, pop-up notifications are available if an activity, update, or event occurs in the background or in an application window presented while in the background, as well as if the feedback is about confidential task completion, task failure, or a task that was initiated remotely and is still in progress when the user logs into the device.

Figure 4 illustrates an example of an inline notification, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In general, inline notifications are used when the location of the notification's presentable information (e.g., the notified content) is within the area the user is currently looking at (e.g., the user display area). The presentable information is updated and/or animated while in the user's view.

As shown, GUI 410 is presented on the display. An application (e.g., a chat application) is running and presents content (e.g., chat content) in an application window 420 on GUI 410. The presented content relates to a subject 422 (e.g., a chat thread). Additionally, a second window 430 is presented on GUI 410 to provide information about another application (e.g., a recently run video game).

Notification data is received (e.g., text for a chat from Friend A). It is determined that the notification data is associated with an application (e.g., a chat application is the chat destination) and a subject 422 (e.g., the text belongs to a chat thread) rather than with the second window 430. Thus, it is determined to present an in-context notification.

It is then determined that the notification data (e.g., text from Friend A) is presentable at a location within the user display area of application window 420 (the notification data, when presented, is in the user's view). Because this location is within the display area, an inline notification 450 is possible. An inline notification 450 provides a visual indicator of the notification data, such as an indicator that updates and/or animates the notification data (e.g., a blue rectangle around the chat text, or any other type of visual indicator).

An example of an in-application notification is shown, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In general, in-application notifications are used when the location of the notification's presentable information (e.g., the notified content) is within an application window that is in the foreground (e.g., the focus area), but outside of the display area. The in-application notification may be presented within the display area and alert the user that the presentable information is outside of the display area. The in-application notification may be interactive such that upon user interaction with the in-application notification, the display area is changed to indicate the location of the presentable information.

As shown, a GUI 510 is presented on a display. An application (e.g., a chat application) is running and presents content (e.g., chat content) in an application window 520 on the GUI 510. The presented content relates to a subject 522 (e.g., a chat thread). Additionally, a second window 530 is presented on the GUI 510 to provide information about another application (e.g., a recently run video game).

Notification data is received (e.g., text for a chat from Friend A). It is determined that the notification data is associated with an application (e.g., a chat application is the chat destination) and a subject 522 (e.g., the text belongs to a chat thread) rather than with the second window 530. Thus, it is determined to present an in-context notification.

It is then determined that notification data (e.g., text from Friend A) is presentable at a location outside the user's display area of application window 520 (e.g., the notification data is shown at the end of a chat thread, but the user has scrolled up and the current display area does not include the end of the chat thread). Because this location is outside the display area, an in-application notification 550 is possible. In-application notification 550 provides a visual indicator that information presentable outside the display area but at a location within application window 520 is available to the user (e.g., the notification includes a statement that new text has been received and is available when the user scrolls down to the end of the chat thread).

Figure 6 illustrates an example of an in-flow notification, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In general, in-flow notifications are used when a flow of activity in the foreground communicates and provides feedback to the user about one or more tasks of the flow that are being executed.

As shown, a GUI 610 is presented on a display. An application is running (e.g., a video game application) and presents content related to a flow (downloading, installing, or purchasing a video game application, a video game level, another application, or any other content) in an application window 620 on the GUI 610.

Notification data is received (e.g., download progress is received from a network source). It is determined that the notification data is associated with an application (e.g., a video game application) and a flow (e.g., a download). Thus, it is determined to present an in-flow notification 650. The in-flow notification 650 provides a visual indicator of the progress of the flow and/or task being executed. The in-flow notification 650 is presented within the application window 620 and is updated to reflect the progress. Once the flow is complete (e.g., a download is complete), the in-flow notification 650 is updated to present a selectable action associated with the flow (e.g., a launch button to launch the downloaded application).

Figure 7 illustrates an example of a pop-up notification, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In general, pop-up notifications are used when the notification data is not associated with an application that presents content in an application window that is in the foreground (e.g., an active application) and when the notification data is time-sensitive and/or relevant to the context of the user and/or application. Pop-up notifications are presented in a pop-up window that is on top of the application window. Presentation of content continues in the application window and user focus remains on the application (e.g., user input on a controller is used to interact with the presented content).

As shown, GUI 710 is presented on the display. An application (e.g., a chat application) is running and presents content (e.g., chat content) in an application window 720 on GUI 710. The presented content relates to a subject 722 (e.g., a chat thread). Additionally, a second window 730 is presented on GUI 410 providing information about another application (e.g., a recently run video game).

In one example, notification data is received (e.g., a system notification, data related to a recently run video game application, etc.). It is determined that the notification data is not associated with the application (e.g., a chat application is not the destination for the notification data). Thus, it is determined not to present an in-context notification. In another example, the notification data is associated with an application. However, in this example, it is determined that the notification data is not associated with subject 722 (e.g., the notification data relates to a different chat thread). Thus, in this example, it is also determined not to present an in-context notification.

Next, it is determined whether a popup notification 750 needs to be presented. If the notification data is associated with another thread or with the second window 730, is a system notification, or is feedback regarding a confidential task completion, a task failure, or a task that was started remotely and is still in progress when the user logs into the device presenting the GUI 710, the decision may be to present the popup notification 750. The popup notification 750 may be located on the application window 720 or on any other area of the GUI 720. For example, the notification 750 may slide from right to left on the top side of the GUI 720, or slide from top to bottom on the top side of the GUI 720. If another popup notification is already presented on the GUI 720, the new popup notification 750 may be shown below the existing popup notification, or may slide and push down the existing popup notification.

Generally, when an in-context or pop-up notification is presented, the active application continues to run and the active application continues to present content in the foreground application window. Depending on the type of notification, different types of information are available for the notification. For example, an inline notification may visually indicate that notification data is available at a location within the user display area. An in-application notification may visually indicate that notification data is available at a location outside the user display area and may not include notification data. In contrast, an in-flow or pop-up notification may include some or all of the notification data. Furthermore, depending on the type of notification, different states of the notification are available. For example, an inline notification may be presented according to one state, while other types of notifications may be presented according to one of several possible states. When multiple states are used, the type and/or amount of presentable information varies between these states.

FIG. 8 illustrates example states of a notification according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The first state corresponds to a collapsed state in which minimal information is presented to alert the user to the receipt of notification data. The second state corresponds to an expanded state in which some or all of the notification data can be presented.

In one example, the notification is presented in a collapsed state 810. In this state 810, the notification includes a header 812 that generally identifies the type and/or title of the notification (e.g., "Text Message from a Friend" for a chat notification).

In the expanded state 850, the notification increases in size and its content is updated to provide supplemental information. For example, the notification includes a header 852 (which can be the same as header 812; in other words, the size and presentable information in the header does not change between the states). The notification also includes a body 854 and an action 856. The body 854 provides supplemental information derived from the notification data (e.g., the actual text from a text message). The action 856 represents a selectable icon that can trigger an associated application to perform a task or trigger a flow (e.g., a reply icon to reply to a text message). When the action 856 is selected, the application window of the associated application is presented and available for use, or the notification may be shown in a third state that provides the functionality of such an application window.

When a notification is presented, whether in a collapsed state 810 or an expanded state 850, its content (e.g., the header, body, and/or information within the actions) may be updated over time. For example, when an in-flow notification is presented, the body of such a notification may indicate the progress of the flow and is updated according to the status of this progress.

9 illustrates an example of a flow for presenting an in-context notification, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The operations of the flow may be implemented as hardware circuits and/or stored as computer-readable instructions on a non-transitory computer-readable medium of a computer system, such as a video game system or a back-end server. When implemented, the instructions represent modules including circuits or code executable by a processor(s) of the computer system. Execution of such instructions configures the computer system to perform certain operations described herein. Each circuit or code in combination with the processor represents a means for performing the respective operation(s). Although the operations are shown in a particular order, it should be understood that no particular order is required.

As shown, flow begins at operation 902, where a computer system presents content in an application window. For example, an application is running and presents content in the application window on a GUI of a display.

In one example, at operation 904, the computer system receives notification data. The notification data is received from another device and is associated with a context. The context indicates a source application, a destination application, a notification type, and/or a notification subject, among other attributes. Other information may also be indicated in the context.

In one example, at operation 906, the computer system determines whether the notification data is associated with an application. In particular, if the application and the destination application of the notification data are the same, it is determined that the notification data is associated with the application. In this case, operation 908 follows operation 906. Otherwise, operation 906 is followed by operation 912.

In one example, at operation 908, the computer system determines whether an application window is in the foreground. If so, it is determined to present an in-context notification in response to the notification data being associated with the active application. In this case, operation 908 is followed by operation 910. Otherwise, operation 908 is followed by operation 912.

In one example, at operation 910, the computer system presents an in-context notification in an application window. Various types of in-context notifications are possible. In the example, an inline notification is used when the notification data is presentable at a location within the user display area of the application window. An in-application notification is used when the notification data is presentable at a location outside the user display area. An in-flow notification is used when the notification data is related to a triggered flow and the application window presents information about that flow.

In one example, in operation 912, the computer system determines that the notification data is not associated with an active application and/or that the application window is not in the foreground. Thus, the computer system determines that presentation of in-context notifications should be limited. Instead, the computer system can determine whether a pop-up notification should be presented, whether the notification data should be sent to a queue and added to a notification summary, and/or whether a notification should be sent to a notification list.
Various techniques are possible for making this determination. In one example technique, a rule set is used to determine if a pop-up notification should be used. Otherwise, the notification data can be added to a notification summary and/or notification list. The rule set typically specifies that if there is a time constraint on the notification and/or if the notification has a certain level of relevance to the user, then a pop-up notification should be used. For example, if an activity, update, or event related to the notification data occurs in the background or in an application window presented in the background, then a pop-up notification can be used.
Similarly, a pop-up notification can be used if the feedback is for a confidential task completion, a task failure, or a task that was remotely initiated and is still in progress when the user logs into the device. Otherwise, the notification data can be added to the notification summary and/or notification list. In another exemplary technique, an operational mode can be used, where the operational mode can be associated with a notification setting that indicates whether pop-up notifications are allowed or restricted. If allowed, a pop-up notification is presented. Otherwise, the notification data can be added to the notification summary and/or notification list. The use of the operational mode is further described in connection with the next figure.

In the above description of the flow, the association of notification data with an application and the application presenting content in a foreground application window is an example of matching context. Other methods of using contexts and/or other types of contexts are also possible.

In one example, the computer system can determine whether a match exists between a context associated with the notification data and a context associated with the application. If a match exists, the computer system can determine a presentation style (e.g., an inline presentation style, an in-application presentation style, and/or an in-flow presentation style) for the in-context notification, as shown under operation 910.
Otherwise, the computer system may determine that a pop-up notification should be presented or some other form of limiting the presentation of the in-context application may be used, where in this example the context associated with the notification data includes at least one of a first user identifier associated with a first user of the application, a second user identifier associated with a second user of the source application that generated the notification data, a subject of the notification data, a type of notification data, a first application identifier associated with the application, a second application identifier associated with the second application, a first platform identifier associated with a first platform (e.g., a video game platform) hosting the application, or a second platform identifier associated with a second platform (e.g., a social media platform) hosting the source application.
The context associated with the application includes at least one of a first user identifier, a first application identifier, a first platform identifier, an operational mode, or an indication that the application window is in the foreground of the display. A match exists, for example, if the first user identifier is the same (or may be mapped to the same user account) in the two contexts, if the first application identifier is the same in the two contexts, and/or if the first platform identifier is the same in the two contexts. A match also exists if the operational mode and/or foreground state indicates that the subject of the notification data, the type of notification data, the second user identifier, the second application identifier, and/or the second platform identifier are associated with permission to present the notification data (e.g., are on an exception list).

Some or all of these contexts may be used in other ways as well under operations 906 and/or 908. For example, the notification source, notification type, and/or notification subject may further be used to determine if an in-context notification needs to be presented. If the notification source is in the allowed application's exception list, then an in-context notification can be presented.
Additionally or alternatively, an in-context notification can be presented if the notification type matches an allowed type and/or if the notification subject matches the subject of content presented in the foreground application window. For illustrative purposes, the active application is a chat application running on a first device of a first user. A second user operates a second device to run another instance of the chat application and sends text as notification data. Assuming the notification source (e.g., another instance of the chat application) and notification type (e.g., chat) are allowed, an in-context notification can be presented if the text corresponds to an ongoing chat thread. Otherwise, a pop-up notification is used.

Other types of context are also possible. User context and application context are examples of such possible contexts. User context indicates the level of a user's attention (or focus) to the content. Various techniques are available for determining this level. In one example technique, the operating mode of the device indicates the level of user attention or user attentiveness.
For example, a user watching a movie may correspond to a lower level of attention than a user playing a video game. In another example technique, the type of content indicates the level of user attention. For example, a user playing a chess video game may correspond to a lower level of attention than a user playing a first person shooter video game. In yet another technique, gaze information detected by an eye tracking system or motion data detected by a motion tracking system may indicate the level of user attention.
For example, gaze information indicating that the user is not looking at the GUI, or motion information indicating a relatively low level of movement, may correspond to a lower level of attention than when the gaze is on the GUI, or when a higher level of movement is detected. Application context indicates the level of user interaction with the application. Various techniques are also available for determining this level.
In one example technique, the mode of operation of the device indicates a level of user interaction. For example, a movie mode may expect a relatively lower level of user interaction compared to a game mode. In another example technique, the type of content may indicate a level of user attention. For example, a chess video game may expect a relatively lower level of user interaction compared to a first person shooter video game. In yet another technique, the amount and/or frequency of user input received at an input device (e.g., a video game controller) indicates a level of user interaction. The greater the amount and/or the greater the frequency, the greater the level of user interaction.

Given a user context and/or application context, rules can be defined to trigger a particular type of in-context notification or popup notification, or to use a notification summary or notification list. For example, if there is a high level of user attention and/or user interaction (e.g., above a certain threshold level), an in-context notification is shown only if the notification data is relevant to the activity the user is engaged in (e.g., associated with an active application). Otherwise, if there is a time constraint on the notification data or if the notification data is relevant to the user context and/or application context, a popup notification is used, and otherwise the notification data is sent to a notification summary and/or notification list.

Furthermore, the above flow is illustrated in relation to conditional statements that may be stored as a rule set. The conditional statements may be predefined and manually updated based on user input to reflect user preferences and/or settings. Furthermore, such rules and/or other types of rules may be automatically learned by a computer system. For example, data regarding user context and/or application context may be tracked for a user and across various users. Based on such data, a machine learning (ML) algorithm is trained to output parameters that define the rules. Such rules may then be pushed to a computer system, or the trained ML algorithm itself may be hosted on a computer system, such that the user context and/or application context are used as inputs and an output is received that indicates whether a notification needs to be presented and the type of notification.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of an operational mode of a device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The device presents a GUI 1010 on a display. The GUI 1010 includes various fields related to notification settings. A first field 1020 corresponds to general settings, a second field 1030 corresponds to an operational mode, and a third field corresponds to a notification type (shown as various channels such as a social media channel providing social media notifications, a gaming channel providing gaming notifications, a media and event channel providing media and event notifications, a download and upload channel providing download and upload notifications, a promotions and offers channel providing promotions and offers notifications, etc.). Each of the three fields can be selected to further present notification settings that are definable under the selected field. FIG. 10 illustrates the selection of the operational mode field 1030.

As shown, multiple operating modes are possible (FIG. 10 shows four such modes). Such modes can be identified in different fields 1032, each of which can be selected to further present notification settings applicable to the corresponding operating mode, as further shown in FIG. 11. Each mode indicates an operating mode of the device. Within each of such modes, different user contexts and/or different application contexts can be expected. In other words, the level of user attention and/or the level of user interaction can change between operating modes. To reflect that change, the notification settings can differ between operating modes.

For purposes of illustration, the device is a video game console. These operating modes include a gaming mode, a content on demand mode (such as a movie and video mode), a content broadcast mode, or a virtual reality mode. The gaming mode may be expected to generate a higher level of user attention and/or user interaction than the content on demand or content broadcast modes, but lower than the virtual reality mode.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of notification settings associated with an operational mode, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, upon user selection of "operational mode A" as presented in field 1032 of FIG. 10, notification settings applicable to the selected operational mode are presented.

In one example, the GUI 1110 identifies an operational mode 1120 and presents an exception list showing different notification types 1130 (e.g., download complete, upload complete, friends online, game invite, broadcast invite, music track change, group activity, etc.). Each of those notification types 1130 is selectable. For example, a check box 1140 can be displayed next to each notification type, which, when checked, indicates that the notification type is selected. Selection of a notification type from the exception list indicates that if notification data is received and associated with the selected notification type, the corresponding notification can be presented (whether in-context or popup) when the device is in the operational mode 1120. In other words, the operational mode 1120 is associated with an exception list, and the corresponding notification can be presented only if a notification type on the exception list is selected. If a notification type is not selected, presentation of the corresponding notification is limited.

11 illustrates an exception list, other types of lists are possible. For example, a permission list is possible. If no notification type is selected under a permission list, presentation of the corresponding notification is allowed. If selected, presentation of the notification is restricted. Additionally, although notification types are illustrated, other parameters can be used to define permissions and restrictions per operational mode. For example, the exception list can identify a source application, a destination application, and/or a type of source application and/or destination application (e.g., social media application, gaming application, etc.). If any of these parameters are selected, notification data associated with the selected parameter (e.g., notification data associated with the selected source application, destination application, or application type) can result in presentation of the corresponding notification.

Each of the operational modes can be associated with its own set of notification settings. Such settings can be set to a certain default configuration (e.g., of default selections and notification types). Also, user input can be received that changes the default configuration (e.g., deselecting selected notification settings and selecting deselected notification settings). Furthermore, changes to the default configuration or customized configurations can be pushed from a computer system (such as one that includes a back-end server). In one example, to support pushing, the computer system automatically learns of the changes. For example, data regarding user context and/or application context can be tracked for users under each operational mode and across various users. Based on such data, an ML algorithm is trained to output parameters that define the configuration.

In one example, the device is in an operational mode associated with a notification setting. Notification data is received. The notification type associated with the notification data (and additional or alternative source applications, destination applications, source application types, destination application types) is matched against the notification settings. If the notification settings allow presentation of the corresponding notification, the notification data is further used to present an in-context or pop-up notification. Otherwise, the corresponding notification may be sent to a queue for addition to a notification summary or may be added to a notification list so that the notification can be retrieved and presented at a different time.

The notification summary supports the organization of unshown notifications according to priority and the presentation of a subset of the highest priority notifications to the user, in addition to the option to display the remaining notifications. Figures 17-20 illustrate examples of a notification summary. In comparison, a notification list represents a different way of organizing notifications, as further illustrated in Figures 12-16. In general, a notification list includes notifications having different attributes (e.g., different notification types associated with different source and/or destination applications, etc.). Furthermore, in a notification list, notifications may be replaced, replaced and accumulated, modified, and/or grouped with other notifications such that the most recent notifications are presented when the notification list is presented to the user. Furthermore, given a certain context (e.g., assuming the device is in a certain operating mode that restricts presentation), a notification may be added to a notification list and then presented as an in-context or pop-up notification when the context changes (e.g., when the device changes to another operating mode that allows presentation). Thus, the actions of replacing, replacing and accumulating, modifying, and grouping may also affect the presentation of in-context and pop-up notifications.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of replacing a notification according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Replacing a notification represents a method of removing a first notification and replacing it with a second notification. Typically, the second notification has a newer timestamp than the first notification. Replacing a notification can result in a new notification (e.g., an in-context or pop-up notification) and can place such a notification at the top of the notification list.

In one example, notification replacement does not include any information or indication of the previous notification that has been replaced. Thus, this replacement method is typically used when it is no longer worth notifying the user of the previous content that has been replaced. A rule set can be defined to reflect this approach. For example, notification replacement is used when the previous content is out of date (e.g., its timestamp is in the past) or is no longer relevant (e.g., the notification data is associated with an application that is no longer active). Notification replacement is also used when the content being replaced is about the status of a task in a flow (e.g., a download was in progress and is now completed, etc.). Notification replacement is also used when the notification data includes updated information, but the update does not affect the relevance of the notification data (e.g., when notification data indicates that a video game team's name has been changed three times, where the number "2" does not affect relevance).

As shown in FIG. 12, a first notification 1210 relates to a task (e.g., a download). The first notification 1210 has a first timestamp (e.g., 2 hours) and indicates the task status (e.g., download started). As the task progresses, additional notification data is received indicating the progress of the task. Because the notification data relates to the task status, the notification data is used to replace the first notification 1210. In particular, the first notification 1210 is replaced with a second notification 1250, which has a second timestamp (e.g., 3 minutes) and which indicates the status at that timestamp (e.g., download completed 3 minutes ago).

Thus, if notification 1210 was added to the notification list, the notification list is updated to include second notification 1250 instead. Second notification 1250 is placed in the notification list according to the second timestamp. Similarly, if first notification 1210 was presented in-context or as a popup notification, this presentation is updated to show second notification 1250 instead.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of replacing and accumulating notifications according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Replacing and accumulating notifications is another notification replacement method, where in addition to replacing the notification, the method uses a counter (e.g., an accumulation parameter) to count up the number of times the replacement has been performed. Thus, the user can be notified not only that the notification has been replaced, but also that there has been additional activity regarding the replaced notification. Presentation of the counter can be within the notification, separate from the notification, or shown alone without presenting the notification.

In one example, notification replacement and accumulation is used when the previous content has not expired and/or is still relevant. Additionally, notification replacement and accumulation is used when the quantity of the counter value may affect the perceived importance of the replaced content.

13, a first notification 1310 is related to an event (e.g., a photo posted by a user on a social media platform). The first notification 1310 has a first timestamp (e.g., 2 hours) and includes notification data related to the event (a photo “liked” by Friend A). Over time, other notification data are received and related to the same event. For example, second, third, and fourth notification data are received at various times indicating “likes” of the photo from three other friends. The latest notification data (fourth notification data—a “like” of the photo from Friend B) has a fourth timestamp (e.g., 3 minutes) and is used as the last replacement. Furthermore, a counter is incremented each time one of the notification data is received, so its current value is 3. Thus, a new notification 1350 replaces the first notification 1310 and has a fourth timestamp. The new notification 1350 includes the latest notification data (e.g., a “like” of the photo from Friend D) and indicates the latest value of the counter (e.g., the other three).

Thus, if notification 1310 was added to the notification list, the notification list is updated to include new notification 1350 instead. New notification 1350 is placed in the notification list according to the fourth timestamp. Similarly, if first notification 1310 was presented in-context or as a popup notification, this presentation is updated to show new notification 1350 instead.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of modifying a notification, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Modifying a notification represents a way in which a notification includes additional notification data that is added to the notification without notifying the user in the foreground. This method does not re-notify the user of the change, and keeps the notification in chronological order in the notification list.

In one example, modifying a notification is used when an existing notification has not yet been presented and the additional notification data does not affect the relevance or time constraints of the original notification data, or when the additional notification data is to the same destination application and contains the same action as the original notification data. Modifying a notification is also used to avoid generating new notifications and changing their order in the notification list.

As shown in FIG. 14, a first notification 1410 relates to an event (e.g., an invitation to play a game). The first notification 1410 has a first timestamp (e.g., 2 hours) and includes notification data relating to the event (e.g., a game invite from Friend A). Additional notification data is then received that relates to the event and does not change the relevance of the first notification. For example, the additional notification data indicates that Friend A is still waiting to accept or decline the game invite. Thus, a modified notification 1450 is presented, which is the same as the first notification 1450 except that its content has been modified (e.g., indicating that Friend A is still waiting). The timestamp of the first notification 1410 may be shown in the modified notification 1450.

Figure 15 illustrates an example of grouping notifications according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Notification grouping represents a method of grouping one notification with at least another notification. The notifications are grouped together but are treated as individual notifications. This method allows the user to see a high level summary of notification activity. Even when viewed in the notification list, notifications are displayed separately and in chronological order.

In one example, notification grouping is used when notifications share at least one common attribute. For example, if multiple notifications include the same notification type (e.g., chat messages), then these notifications are grouped together under a group corresponding to the notification type. Similarly, multiple notifications may be grouped together if they are associated with the same source application, destination application, and/or type of source and/or destination application.

As shown in FIG. 15, a first set 1510 of notifications is added to the notification list. The first set 1510 includes a first chat notification with a first timestamp (2 hours ago), a social media notification with a second timestamp (1 hour ago), and a second chat notification with a third timestamp (30 minutes ago). The two chat notifications are grouped together, but the social media notification is not grouped. The grouping does not change any of the notifications or their timestamps. Thus, upon completion of the grouping, a second set 1550 of notifications is defined. The second set 1550 represents a reorganization of the first set 1510. In the second set 1550, the first chat notification and the second chat notification are grouped together according to their chronological order (e.g., the first chat notification is listed first).

FIG. 16 illustrates an example of a flow for presenting notifications according to an operational mode, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The operations of the flow can be implemented as hardware circuits and/or stored as computer readable instructions on a non-transitory computer readable medium of a computer system, such as a video game system or a back-end server. When implemented, the instructions represent modules including circuits or code executable by a processor(s) of the computer system. Execution of such instructions configures the computer system to perform certain operations described herein. Each circuit or code in combination with a processor represents a means for performing the respective operation(s). Although the operations are shown in a particular order, it should be understood that no particular order is required.

As shown, the flow begins at operation 1602, where a computer system presents content in an application window. For example, an application is running and presents content in the application window on a GUI of a display communicatively coupled to a device. The device may be a computing component of the computer system.

In one example, at operation 1604, the computer system receives notification data. The notification data is received from another device and is associated with, among other attributes, a source application, a destination application, a type of notification, and/or a subject of the notification.

In one example, in operation 1606, the computer system determines an operational mode of the device. Generally, the operational mode corresponds to the operational mode of the device at or within a time window that includes the time when the notification data is received. Various techniques are available for determining the operational mode. In one example technique, a user input is received that activates the operational mode. The user input represents a user selection of the operational mode. In another example technique, the determination need not depend on a user selection. Instead, the operational mode is determined based on the type of content being presented, the title of the content, the source of the content, the type of application, the level of user attention, and/or the level of user interaction. For example, if the content represents video game content and the level of user interaction indicates that the user is actively playing the video game, the video game mode is determined.

In one example, in operation 1608, the computer system determines whether a notification corresponding to the notification data needs to be presented. In particular, the notification mode is associated with a notification setting. The notification setting may specify whether presentation of a notification is allowed based on attributes of the notification data, such as a source application, a destination application, a type of notification, and/or a subject of the notification. If allowed, operation 1608 is followed by operation 1610. Otherwise, operation 1608 is followed by operation 1612.

In one example, at operation 1610, the computer system presents the notification as an in-context or pop-up notification. A rule set may be used to determine the type of notification, as described herein above in connection with FIGS. 4-9.

In one example, in operation 1612, the computer system determines that presentation of the notification needs to be limited. Thus, the computer system sends the notification to a notification list (or a notification summary, as described in connection with the next figure).

In one example, in operation 1614, the computer system updates the notifications in the notification list. Various types of updates are possible, including replacing notifications, replacing and accumulating notifications, modifying notifications, and/or grouping notifications. These updates may depend on the attributes of the notifications and a set of update rules, as described herein above in connection with FIGS. 12-15.

In one example, in operation 1616, the computer system presents a notification list. Various triggers are possible to trigger this presentation. In one example, user input is received indicating a request for a notification. In particular, a selectable icon may be presented on the GUI, where user selection of the icon indicates the request. In the notification list, various notifications are presented in a collapsed state and arranged according to their chronological order. User selection of one of the notifications changes the presentation to an expanded state.

As shown herein above at operations 1608 and 1612, if the notification settings associated with the operational mode indicate that presentation of a notification is limited, the notification may not be presented and instead is added to the notification list. However, the computer system may determine that the operational mode changes to a second operational mode associated with a second set of notification settings. In this case, the computer system determines whether the second set allows presentation. If so, presents the notification and removes it from the notification list. For example, during the operational mode, notifications may have been received but not presented. Upon determining to change to the second operational mode, the computer system may determine a set of those such notifications and present at least a subset of the notifications that were received but not presented. Here, the presentation (e.g., notifications to present, total number of those such notifications, presentation style, and other presentation elements) may depend on the notification settings of the second operational mode.

The above flow is illustrated in relation to notification settings and rules. Notification settings and rules may be predefined and manually updated based on user input to reflect user preferences and/or settings. Furthermore, such notification settings and rules may be automatically learned by a computer system. For example, data regarding user context and/or application context may be tracked for a user and among different users under different operating modes. Based on such data, an ML algorithm is trained to output parameters that define notification settings and rules. Such notification settings and rules may then be pushed to a computer system, or the trained ML algorithm itself may be hosted on a computer system, using the user context and/or application context as input and receiving an output indicating whether a notification should be presented and the type of notification.

FIG. 17 illustrates an example of a notification summary according to an embodiment of the present disclosure according to an operational mode. In general, an application may be running and presenting content in an application window on the GUI. If it is determined that the notification data does not need to be presented in a notification (in-context or popup), the notification data may be added to a queue. From the queue, a notification summary may be generated, which includes the unpresented notifications. The notifications may have different attributes (e.g., different notification types, associated with different source and/or destination applications, etc.). The notifications in the summary are organized based on their priority. The notification priority may be defined based on the relevance and recency of the notifications. Over time, the priority may change and the notifications may be reorganized. The notification summary may be presented on the GUI in a first state, such as a collapsed state, showing the total number of notifications in the notification summary. Upon user selection of the notification summary, the notification summary is presented in a second state, such as an expanded state, showing some or all of the notifications. In this way, the user can quickly determine the total number of unpresented notifications and can quickly and efficiently access the highest priority notifications.

As shown in FIG. 17, an application (e.g., a video game application) presents content (e.g., video game content) in an application window 1720 on a display GUI 1710. Notification data corresponding to multiple notifications is received. Given a particular context (e.g., notification data not associated with the application and the application window 1720 being in the foreground), it determines not to present the notifications. Instead, a notification summary 1730 is presented on the GUI 1710 in a first state indicating that notifications have been received and are available for display.

In one example, the notification summary 1730 is presented in a pop-up window outside of the application window 1720. In another example, the notification summary 1730 is presented in a pop-up window at least partially above the application window 1720. In yet another example, the notification summary 1730 is presented as a dynamic icon in a predetermined area of the GUI 1710 (e.g., the upper right corner) that indicates the total number of notifications. In a further example, the notification summary 1730 is not presented until a particular context changes. For example, the notification summary 1730 is presented when the application stops running or the application window 1720 moves to the background.

Upon user interaction with notification summary 1730 indicating a user selection, notification summary 1730 is presented in a second state (FIG. 17 shows notification summary 1730 in the second state as notification summary 1750). In the second state, additional information related to the notifications may be presented, e.g., identifying one or more of the notifications.

FIG. 18 illustrates example notification summary states according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In one example, multiple states are possible, with each state showing a different level of information.

A first state 1810 corresponds to a collapsed state and shows a header for the notification summary. The header indicates that no notifications have been presented (e.g., by including text such as "While you were [away/playing/watching, etc.]...") and the total number of such notifications (e.g., "8 new notifications"). Additionally, the header may indicate the reason the notification summary is being presented. A variety of reasons may exist, typically depending on the user context and/or application context, and may correspond to conditions that resulted in queuing the notifications rather than presenting them immediately. For example, the notification summary is presented on a display coupled to the computing device. One reason corresponds to an operating mode of the computing device that prevented immediate presentation (e.g., "8 notifications were received while you were gaming"). Another reason corresponds to one or more notifications being received while the computing device is powered off (e.g., "8 notifications were received while you were away"). Yet another reason corresponds to the associated user not being logged into the computing device (e.g., "8 notifications were received while you were logged off"). In this manner, the notification summary and the reasons for the notification summary are presented simultaneously under the first state 1810.

The second state 1840 corresponds to the expanded state and shows the header, a preview of the selected subset of notifications, and the total number of remaining notifications that are not in the preview. The header can remain the same or can be modified (e.g., it can include no text, can indicate the reason for the notification summary but need not, etc.). Nevertheless, the header typically indicates the total number of notifications that are in the notification summary. The selected subset corresponds to a predefined number of the highest priority notifications (e.g., the top 3 notifications). The preview shows each such notification in a collapsed state (as described in connection with FIG. 8). At the bottom of the notification summary, the total number of remaining notifications is shown, which corresponds to the total number of notifications in the notification summary minus the total number of notifications in the preview (e.g., "5 notifications remaining").

As described herein above, notifications are presented in a collapsed state during preview from the notification summary. User input can be received indicating a user selection of a notification. In response, the notification can be presented in an expanded state. Various techniques are possible for presenting notifications in an expanded state. In one technique, the notification summary is further expanded (e.g., its window size increases) and the expanded notifications continue to be presented within the notification summary (e.g., presented within a window by pushing down other notifications from the preview). In another technique, the expanded notifications are shown within a separate window from the notification summary. In this case, the notification summary can be updated by removing notifications therefrom.

The third state 1870 also corresponds to the expanded state, except that now all notifications are previewed instead of a subset. If the preview of a notification requires more space than the notification summary window, a scrolling mechanism can be used to scroll through the notifications. The notifications are organized according to their priority, with the highest priority notifications previewed at the top of the notification summary and the lowest priority notifications previewed at the bottom of the notification summary.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of summarizing notifications according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In one example, notifications are organized according to their priority. In an expanded state, the notification summary previews a subset of notifications, which is selected based on priority. The priority of a notification may be defined as either or both of its relevance and its recency. Relevance indicates how relevant a notification is to a current context, such as a user context and/or an application context. Recency indicates the difference between the current time and the time the corresponding notification data was received.

As shown, a set 1910 of notifications (or notification data) is queued (FIG. 19 shows eight notifications). Each such notification is associated with a timestamp representing the time at which the corresponding notification data was received. The recency of the notification may be determined as the difference between the current time and the timestamp (e.g., as shown, "notification A" has a recency of 1 minute, indicating that the corresponding notification data was received one minute ago).

Various techniques are available for determining the relevance of a notification. In one technique, the relevance depends on the type of notification. In particular, the relevance may be predefined for each type of notification (or any other attribute of the notification type, such as source application, destination application, counter, type of source and/or destination application, etc.). For example, if the notification is a video game notification, its relevance is higher than that of a social media notification, which in turn is higher than that of a promotion notification.
In another technique, the relevance may vary depending on the mode of operation. In particular, each mode of operation may be associated with a predefined relevance for each type of notification (or any other attribute). For example, if the mode of operation is a social media mode, social media notifications are associated with the highest relevance.
In a further technique, the relevance depends on whether the notification is associated with an application having an application window in the foreground or in the background, where the relevance is higher than that of a notification associated with a background application window. In yet another technique, the relevance depends on the user context and/or application context, where such context indicates an activity, event, update, or feedback, and the notification is associated with an activity, event, update, or feedback, the relevance is higher.
For example, if the user context indicates that user attention is on video game content, and if the application context indicates user interaction with a particular video game application, then notifications related to the video game application will have higher relevance than notifications related to another video game application, which in turn will have higher relevance than notifications related to a non-video game application.
In another technique, when the notification data is sent to a queue and a corresponding first notification is added to the notification summary, this notification data can also be sent to a second device of the user, such as the user's mobile device. User interaction with the corresponding second notification on the second device is monitored. When the second notification is presented, the relevance of the first notification in the notification summary is lowered to a minimum, or the first notification can even be removed from the notification summary. If the second notification is closed without being presented, the relevance of the first notification can be lowered to a predetermined level (but not the minimum). If no user interaction with the second notification is detected, the relevance of the first notification is not changed.
In a further technique, ML algorithms can be used to generate notification relevance. In particular, data about user context and/or application context, how notifications were presented and then closed, or whether notifications were viewed after being restricted, can be tracked for a user and across different users. Based on such data, ML algorithms are trained to output notification relevance.

Over time, the priorities of notifications in the notification summary are changed based on one or both of their relevance and recency. Notifications in the notification summary may be rearranged at time intervals (e.g., every five minutes) or upon detecting a change in priority. Additionally or alternatively, notifications are rearranged in response to determining the latest priority of the notifications at the time the notification summary is presented on the GUI.

In one example, the notification summary is first organized based on the relevance assigned to each notification (e.g., messages that have a higher relevance than promotions). These notifications are then sorted based on recency (e.g., newest messages are shown above older messages). A predetermined number (e.g., three) of the highest priority notifications (e.g., the first three notifications in the notification summary) can be presented within the notification summary preview.

As shown in FIG. 19, the notification summary 1950 of the set of notifications 1910 can be presented in an expanded state that also indicates why the notification summary 1950 is being presented. At the time of presentation, "notification A" was received before "notification D", but "notification D" is the most relevant and follows "notification A" and "notification G".

FIG. 20 illustrates an example of a flow for summarizing and presenting notifications, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The operations of the flow may be implemented as hardware circuits and/or stored as computer readable instructions on a non-transitory computer readable medium of a computer system, such as a video game system or a back-end server. When implemented, the instructions represent modules including circuits or code executable by a processor(s) of the computer system. Execution of such instructions configures the computer system to perform certain operations described herein. Each circuit or code in combination with a processor represents a means for performing the respective operation(s). Although the operations are shown in a particular order, it should be understood that no particular order is required.

As shown, flow begins at operation 2002, where a computer system presents content in an application window. For example, an application is running and presents content in the application window on a GUI of a display communicatively coupled to a device. The device may be a computing component of the computer system.

In one example, in operation 2004, the computer system receives notification data. The notification data is received from another device and is associated with a source application, a destination application, a type of notification, and/or a subject of the notification, among other attributes. The notification data can be used to present a notification on a GUI.

In one example, in operation 2006, the computer system determines whether to queue the notification. In particular, the computer system determines to limit presentation of the notification (e.g., not present the notification as an in-context or pop-up notification). As described above herein, various techniques are possible for determining whether to limit or present the notification. If the notification needs to be limited, the computer system can determine whether to queue the notification.
In one example, the computer system determines to queue the notification based on a determination that the notification data is not associated with an application and that the application window is presented in the foreground of the display. In another example, the computer system determines to queue the notification based on a determination that the notification data is associated with an application and that the application window is presented in the background of the display. If the notification is to be presented, operation 2006 is followed by operation 2008. Otherwise, operation 2006 is followed by operation 2010.

In one example, in operation 2008, the computer system presents the notification as an in-context or pop-up notification. A rule set can be used to determine the type of notification, as described herein above in connection with FIGS. 4-9.

In one example, in operation 2010, the computer system sends a notification to a queue of notifications at a first time. Each notification in the queue is associated with a notification priority. The notification priority can be defined as relevance and recency.

In one example, in operation 2012, the computer system updates the notifications in the queue at a second time. For example, the relevance of each notification is updated as described herein above in connection with FIG. 19. The recency of each notification is also updated based on the notification's timestamp. The notifications are reorganized (e.g., ranked) according to their relevance and sorted according to their recency.

In one example, in operation 2014, the computer system selects a subset of the notifications, e.g., a predetermined number (e.g., three) of the notifications. The three highest priority (or a predetermined number) notifications are selected to form the subset.

In one example, in operation 2016, the computer system generates a notification summary. The notification summary includes various notifications organized according to priority. The notification summary may also include a header indicating the total number of notifications, a preview of a subset of the notifications, and a footer indicating the total number of notifications remaining.

In one example, in operation 2018, the computer system presents a notification summary. For example, the notification summary is presented in a first state showing a header. Based on user interaction with the header, the notification summary is presented in a second state further showing a preview and a footer. Upon user interaction with the footer, various notifications in the notification summary are previewed.

Although FIG. 20 illustrates receiving notification data while presenting content in an application window, the flow equally applies to presenting a notification summary when receiving notification data while the device is powered off or when a user is not logged into the device. Additionally, the computer system can generate a notification list that includes various sets of notifications. A first set can correspond to a first notification that was received and presented. A second set can correspond to a notification that was received and presented. Upon a trigger to present a notification summary, a notification summary can be generated from the notification list, the notification summary including a subset that corresponds to one or more of the first notifications.

FIG. 21 illustrates an example of a flow for presenting in-context and pop-up notifications on a video game console, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The operations of the flow may be implemented as hardware circuits and/or stored as computer-readable instructions on a non-transitory computer-readable medium of the video game console. When implemented, the instructions represent modules including circuits or code executable by a processor(s) of the video game console. Execution of such instructions configures the video game console to perform certain operations described herein. Each circuit or code in combination with the processor represents a means for performing the respective operation(s). Although the operations are shown in a particular order, it should be understood that no particular order is required.

In one example, the video game console receives the notification data. At operation 2102, the video game console determines whether a user logged in to the video game console exists. If so, operation 2102 is followed by operation 2104. Otherwise, operation 2102 is followed by operation 2126.

In one example, in operation 2104, the video game console determines whether an immersive user experience is being provided. In the example, the immersive user experience corresponds to one of the predetermined operational modes of the video game console. For example, if the operational mode is a game mode, the video game console determines that an immersive user experience is being provided. Furthermore, the immersive user experience can be dependent on a user context (e.g., a level of user attention) and an application context (e.g., a level of user interaction). If the level of user attention and/or the level of user interaction exceeds a predetermined level, it determines that an immersive user experience is being provided. If so, operation 2104 is followed by operation 2106. Otherwise, operation 2104 is followed by operation 2120.

In one example, at operation 2106, the video game console determines whether a video game is being played. For example, a video game application may be running and presents video game content in an application window. If the application window is in the foreground, it determines that a video game is being played. If so, operation 2108 follows operation 2106. Otherwise, operation 2106 follows operation 2110.

In one example, in operation 2108, the video game console determines that a pop-up notification needs to be presented. In particular, a user of the video game console is engaged in an immersive user experience and is playing a video game. Thus, a pop-up notification may be presented to alert the user.

In one example, in operation 2110, it is determined whether the user is associated with a mobile device or a device with web access. This determination may be performed by the video game console based on a user profile or based on a back-end server. If a back-end server is used, the back-end server may also monitor activity on the mobile device and/or online activity, in which case it also determines whether such activity exists. If so (if the user is associated with a mobile device or a device with web access and, optionally, activity is detected), operation 2110 is followed by operation 2112. Otherwise, operation 2110 is followed by operation 2114.

In one example, in operation 2112, the video game console sends a push notification to a mobile device or other device.

In one example, in act 2114, the video game console determines whether there is a time constraint for the notification (e.g., based on attributes of the notification, e.g., there is a time constraint for a system notification). If there is a time constraint, act 2114 is followed by act 2116. Otherwise, act 2114 is followed by act 2118.

In one example, in operation 2116, the video game console determines that a pop-up notification needs to be presented. In particular, a time constraint requires a pop-up notification. Thus, a pop-up notification can be presented to alert the user.

In one example, in operation 2118, the video game console sends this notification to notifications and/or queues that are added to a notification summary.

In one example, in operation 2120, the video game console determines a user focus on the content (or any services provided) presented by the video game console. The user focus may depend on the user context and/or the application context. When the level of user attention and/or the level of user interaction exceeds a predetermined level, it is determined that the user focus is on the content. If so, operation 2120 is followed by operation 2122. Otherwise, operation 2120 is followed by operation 2124.

In one example, in operation 2122, the video game console determines that an in-context notification needs to be presented. Thus, the in-context notification can be presented inline, in-application, or in-flow.

In one example, in operation 2124, the game console determines that a pop-up notification needs to be presented. Thus, the pop-up notification can be presented to alert the user.

In one example, in operation 2126, similar to operation 2110, it is determined whether the user is associated with a mobile device or a device that has web access. If so (if the user is associated with a mobile device or a device that has web access and, optionally, activity is detected), operation 2126 is followed by operation 2128. Otherwise, operation 2126 is followed by operation 2134.

In one example, in operation 2128, the video game console determines whether the mobile device or other device is connected to the local area network. For example, this determination is made based on the service set identifier (SSID) of the access point to which the mobile device or other device is connected. If so, operation 2128 is followed by operation 2130. Otherwise, operation 2128 is followed by operation 2132.

In one example, in operation 2130, the video game console sends the notification to notifications and/or queues that are added to a notification summary. The video game console also sends a push notification to a mobile device or other device. The push may be performed over a local area network.

In one example, in operation 2132, the video game console sends the notification to notifications and/or queues that are added to a notification summary. The video game console also sends a push notification to the mobile device or other device. The push may be performed over a remote network.

In one example, in operation 2134, the video game console sends this notification to notifications and/or queues that are added to a notification summary.

22 illustrates an example of a hardware system suitable for implementing a computer system 2200 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Computer system 2200 may represent, for example, a video game system, a back-end set of servers, or other types of computer systems. Computer system 2200 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 2205 for executing software applications and optionally an operating system.
CPU 2205 may be configured with one or more homogeneous or heterogeneous processing cores. Memory 2210 stores applications and data used by CPU 2205. Storage 2215 provides non-volatile storage and other computer-readable media for applications and data, and may include fixed disk drives, removable disk drives, flash memory devices, and CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, Blu-rays, HD-DVDs, or other optical storage devices, as well as signal transmission and storage media.
User input devices 2220 communicate user input from one or more users to computer system 2200, examples of which may include a keyboard, mouse, joystick, touchpad, touch screen, still or video camera, and/or microphone. Network interface 2225 enables computer system 2200 to communicate with other computer systems over an electronic communications network, which may include wired or wireless communications over a local area network or a wide area network such as the Internet.
The audio processor 2255 is adapted to generate analog or digital audio output from instructions and/or data provided by the CPU 2205, the memory 2210, and/or the storage 2215. The components of the computer system 2200, including the CPU 2205, the memory 2210, the data storage 2215, the user input device 2220, the network interface 2225, and the audio processor 2255, are connected via one or more data buses 2260.

The graphics subsystem 2230 is further connected to a data bus 2260 and to the components of the computer system 2200. The graphics subsystem 2230 includes a graphics processing unit (GPU) 2235 and a graphics memory 2240. The graphics memory 2240 includes a display memory (e.g., a frame buffer) used to store pixel data for each pixel of an output image.
Graphics memory 2240 may be integrated into the same device as GPU 2235, connected to GPU 2235 as a separate device, and/or implemented within memory 2210. Pixel data may be provided to graphics memory 2240 directly from CPU 2205.
Alternatively, CPU 2205 provides data and/or instructions defining a desired output image to GPU 2235, from which GPU 2235 generates pixel data for one or more output images. The data and/or instructions defining a desired output image may be stored in memory 2210 and/or graphics memory 2240. In an embodiment, GPU 2235 includes 3D rendering functionality that generates pixel data for output images from instructions and data that define scene geometry, lighting, shading, texture, motion, and/or camera parameters. GPU 2235 may further include one or more programmable execution units capable of executing shader programs.

The graphics subsystem 2230 periodically outputs pixel data of an image from the graphics memory 2240 for display on the display device 2250. The display device 2250 may be any device capable of displaying visual information in response to signals from the computer system 2200, including CRT, LCD, plasma, and OLED displays. The computer system 2200 may provide analog or digital signals to the display device 2250.

According to various embodiments, CPU 2205 is one or more general-purpose microprocessors having one or more processing cores. Further embodiments may be implemented using one or more CPUs 2205 having a microprocessor architecture specifically adapted for highly parallel and computationally intensive applications, such as media and interactive entertainment applications.

The system components may be connected via a network, which in various embodiments may be any combination of the following: the Internet, an IP network, an intranet, a wide area network ("WAN"), a local area network ("LAN"), a virtual private network ("VPN"), a public switched telephone network ("PSTN"), or any other type of network supporting data communication between the devices described herein. The network may include both wired and wireless connections, including optical links. Many other examples are possible and will be apparent to those of skill in the art in light of this disclosure. The network may or may not be of particular interest in the discussion herein.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure can be described in view of the following aspects:

Aspect 1. A method for presenting notifications, the method being implemented by a computer system that presents content within an application window on a display based on an execution of an application, receives notification data, determines a match between a first context associated with the notification data and a second context associated with the application, and presents a notification within the application window based on the match, the notification corresponding to the notification data, and is presented while the presentation of the content continues.

Aspect 2. The method of aspect 1, further comprising determining a location within the application window at which to present the notification data, determining that a user display area includes the location, and presenting the notification data within the location, wherein the notification is presented as a visual indicator of at least a portion of the notification data.

Aspect 3. The method of any of the preceding aspects, determining a location within the application window at which to present the notification data, and determining that the location is outside a user display area, and the notification is presented as a notification window within the user display area, indicating that the notification data is available for presentation.

Aspect 4. The method of any of the preceding aspects, wherein presenting the content within the application window is associated with a flow of tasks performed by the application, and the notification is presented as an update to the flow.

Aspect 5. A method according to any of the preceding aspects, comprising receiving second notification data, determining that the second notification data is associated with a second application, determining that a second application window of the second application is in the background of the display, and presenting a second notification in a pop-up window on the application window based on the second notification data associated with the second application and the second application window being in the background, the second notification corresponding to the second notification data and being presented while the presentation of the content continues.

Aspect 6. The method of aspect 5, wherein the second notification is presented in a first state indicative of at least one of a notification type or a title of the second notification.

Aspect 7. The method of aspect 6, further comprising receiving a user interaction with the second notification and, based on the user interaction, presenting the second notification in a second state within the popup window while the presentation of the content continues, the second state indicating a description of the second notification from the notification data and selectable actions.

Aspect 8. The method of aspect 7, receiving an update to at least one of the description or the selectable action, and presenting the update in the second notification while the presentation of the content and the presentation of the second notification in the second state continues.

Aspect 9. The method of any of the preceding aspects, wherein the content is presented by a user device of the computer system, determining an operational mode of the user device, receiving second notification data, determining that the operational mode limits presentation of the second notification data based on at least one of an association of the second notification data with a second application or a type of the second notification data, and sending the second notification data to a queue.

Aspect 10. The method of any of the preceding aspects, wherein the first context includes at least one of a first user identifier associated with a first user of the application, a second user identifier associated with a second user of a source application that generated the notification data, a subject of the notification data, a type of the notification data, a first application identifier associated with the application, a second application identifier associated with the second application, a first platform identifier associated with a first platform hosting the application, or a second platform identifier associated with a second platform hosting the source application, and the second context includes at least one of the first user identifier, the first application identifier, the first platform identifier, an operating mode, or an indication that the application window is in the foreground of the display.

Aspect 11. A computer system including one or more processors and one or more memories, the one or more memories storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computer system to present content within an application window on a display based on execution of an application, receive notification data, determine a match between a first context associated with the notification data and a second context associated with the application, and present a notification within the application window based on the match, the notification corresponding to the notification data and presented while the presentation of the content continues. The computer system.

Aspect 12. The computer system of aspect 11, wherein the first context indicates a source application, a notification type, and a notification subject, and determining the match includes determining a first match between the source application and the application, and a second match between at least the notification type and a type of the content or the notification subject and a subject of the notification.

Aspect 13. The computer system of aspects 11 or 12, wherein the content is presented to a user, and the execution of the computer readable instructions further configures the computer system to determine, in response to receiving the notification data, at least one of a level of attention of the user to the content or a level of user interaction with the application, and to select a first presentation mode for the notification from a plurality of presentation modes based on at least one of the level of attention or the level of user interaction, the first presentation mode indicating presentation of the notification within the application window, and the plurality of presentation modes including a second mode indicating presentation within a pop-up window on the application window.

Aspect 14. The computer system of aspect 13, wherein the notification includes at least one of a description of the notification or a selectable action, and the execution of the computer-readable instructions further configures the computer system to determine an update to at least one of the level of attention or the level of user command, determine an updated description of the notification or at least one of an updated selectable action based on the update, and present the updated description or at least one of the updated selectable action within the notification in the application window.

Aspect 15. The computer system of aspect 13, wherein determining the match comprises determining that the notification data is associated with the application and determining that the application window is in the foreground of the display.

Aspect 16. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed on a computer system, cause the computer system to perform operations including presenting content in an application window on a display based on an execution of an application; receiving notification data; determining a match between a first context associated with the notification data and a second context associated with the application; determining a presentation style for presenting a notification corresponding to the notification data, the presentation style being based on the match; and presenting the notification on the display according to the presentation style, the notification being presented while the presentation of the content continues. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media.

Aspect 17. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media according to aspect 16, wherein the presentation style is determined from a plurality of presentation styles including inline presentation, in-application presentation, and in-flow presentation.

Aspect 18. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media according to any of preceding aspects 16 to 17, wherein the application window is presented by a video game console, and the operations include receiving second notification data, determining that the video game console is not presenting video game content in the foreground of the display, determining a user context of a user of the video game console, the user context indicating that the user is not viewing the content, and presenting a second notification in a pop-up window on the application window based on the user context.

Aspect 19. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media according to any of preceding aspects 16 to 18, wherein the application is a video game application, the content is video game content, and the operations include receiving second notification data and determining a user context of a user, the user context indicating that the user is playing the video game application, and presenting a second notification in a pop-up window on the application window based on the user context.

Aspect 20. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media according to any of preceding aspects 16 to 19, wherein the application is a video game application, the content is video game content, and the operations include receiving second notification data and determining a user context of a user, the user context indicating that the user is not playing the video game application, determining, and sending the second notification data to a queue based on the user context.

In the foregoing specification, the invention is described with reference to specific embodiments thereof, but those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is not limited thereto. The various features and aspects of the invention described above may be used individually or together. Moreover, the invention can be utilized in any number of environments and applications beyond those described herein without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the specification. Accordingly, the specification and drawings should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

It should be noted that the methods, systems, and devices discussed above are intended to be examples only. It should be emphasized that various embodiments may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For example, it should be understood that in alternative embodiments, the methods may be performed in a different order than described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Also, features described with respect to a particular embodiment may be combined in various other embodiments. Different aspects and elements of the embodiments may be combined in a similar manner. It should also be emphasized that because technology evolves, many of the elements are illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

Specific details are given in the description to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques are shown without unnecessary detail so as not to obscure the embodiments.

Also, note that the present embodiments may be described as processes that are depicted as flow charts or block diagrams. Although each may describe operations as a sequential process, many of the operations may be performed in parallel or simultaneously. Also, the order of these operations may be rearranged. A process may include additional steps not included in the figures.

Furthermore, as disclosed herein, the term "memory" or "memory unit" can refer to one or more devices for storing data, including read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory, magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, or other computer-readable media for storing information. The term "computer-readable medium" includes, but is not limited to, portable or fixed storage devices, optical storage devices, wireless channels, SIM cards, other smart cards, and various other media capable of storing, containing, or carrying instructions or data.

Furthermore, the embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, the program code or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in a computer readable medium, such as a storage medium. A processor may perform the necessary tasks.

Unless otherwise specified, all measurements, values, ratings, positions, magnitudes, sizes, and other specifications set forth herein, including in the claims that follow, are approximate and not exact. They are intended to have a reasonable range consistent with the function to which they relate and with that which is customary in the art to which they pertain. "About" includes within a tolerance of ±0.01%, ±0.1%, ±1%, ±2%, ±3%, ±4%, ±5%, ±8%, ±10%, ±15%, ±20%, ±25%, or as otherwise known in the art. "Substantially" refers to greater than 66%, 155%, 80%, 90%, 95%, 99%, 99.9%, or as otherwise known in the art depending on the context in which the term substantially appears.

Although several embodiments have been described, those skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents may be used without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the above elements may only be components of a larger system, and other rules may take precedence over or otherwise modify the application of the invention. Also, some steps may be taken before, during, or after considering the above elements. Thus, the above description should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

Claims (14)

1. A method for presenting a notification, implemented by a computer system, comprising:
running the application to present content for display to the user within the application window;
Receive notification data,
In response to receiving the notification data,
the user's level of attention to the content; or
a user interaction level with the application;
determining whether a match exists between a first context associated with the notification data and a second context associated with the application;
selecting a first presentation mode from a plurality of presentation modes for a notification corresponding to the notification data based on whether the match exists and at least one of an attention level of the user or the user interaction level, the first presentation mode indicating presentation of the notification within the application window, and the plurality of presentation modes including a second presentation mode indicating presentation within a pop-up window on the application window;
presenting the notification within the application window, the notification corresponding to the notification data and presented while the presentation of the content continues. determining a location within the application window at which to present the notification data;
determining that a user display area includes the location;
The method of claim 1 , further comprising presenting the notification data at the location, the notification being presented as a visual indicator of at least a portion of the notification data. determining a location within the application window at which to present the notification data;
The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining that the location is outside a user display area, and wherein the notification is presented as a notification window within the user display area, indicating that the notification data is available for presentation. The method of claim 1, wherein the content in the application window includes information about a flow of tasks performed by the application, and the notification is presented as an update to the information about the flow. receiving the second notification data;
determining that the second notification data is associated with a second application;
determining that a second application window of the second application is in the background of the display ;
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: presenting a second notification in a pop-up window on the application window based on the second notification data associated with the second application and the second application window in the background, the second notification corresponding to the second notification data and being presented while the presentation of the content continues. the second notification is presented in a first state indicative of at least one of a notification type or a title of the second notification;
receiving a user interaction with the second notification;
presenting the second notification in a second state within the popup window while the presentation of the content continues based on the user interaction, the second state indicating a description of the second notification from the notification data and selectable actions;
receiving updates to at least one of the description or the selectable actions;
The method of claim 5 , further comprising presenting the updates within the second notification while the presentation of the content and presentation of the second notification in the second state continues. the content is presented by a user device of the computer system;
determining an operational mode of the user device;
receiving the second notification data;
determining that the operational mode limits presentation of the second notification data based on at least one of an association of the second notification data with a second application or a type of the second notification data;
The method of claim 1 , further comprising transmitting the second notification data to a queue. The first context is
A first user identifier associated with a first user of the application;
a second user identifier associated with a second user of the source application that generated the notification data;
The subject of said notification data;
The type of notification data;
A first application identifier associated with the application;
A second application identifier associated with the second application;
a first platform identifier associated with a first platform hosting the application; or a second platform identifier associated with a second platform hosting the source application;
and
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the second context includes at least one of the first user identifier, the first application identifier, the first platform identifier, an operating mode, or an indication that the application window is in the foreground of the display. 1. A computer system including one or more processors and one or more memories storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, perform the following:
Within the application window, run the application and present content to the user;
Receive notification data,
In response to receiving the notification data,
the user's level of attention to the content; or
a user interaction level with the application;
determining whether a match exists between a first context associated with the notification data and a second context associated with the application;
selecting a first presentation mode from a plurality of presentation modes for a notification corresponding to the notification data based on whether the match exists and at least one of an attention level of the user or the user interaction level, the first presentation mode indicating presentation of the notification within the application window, and the plurality of presentation modes including a second presentation mode indicating presentation within a pop-up window on the application window;
The computer system is configured to present the notification within the application window, the notification corresponding to the notification data and being presented while the presentation of the content continues. 10. The computer system of claim 9, wherein the first context indicates a source application, a notification type, and a notification subject, and the determining the match determines a first match between the source application and the application, and a second match between at least the notification type and a type of the content or the notification subject and a subject of the content. One or more computer readable storage media storing computer readable instructions that, when executed on a computer system, cause the computer system to:
Running an application and presenting content to the user in an application window;
Receiving notification data,
In response to receiving the notification data,
the user's level of attention to the content; or
a user interaction level with the application;
determining whether a match exists between a first context associated with the notification data and a second context associated with the application;
selecting a first presentation mode from a plurality of presentation modes for a notification corresponding to the notification data based on whether a match exists and at least one of an attention level of the user or the user interaction level, the first presentation mode indicating presentation of the notification within the application window, and the plurality of presentation modes including a second presentation mode indicating presentation within a pop-up window on the application window;
determining a presentation style for presenting the notification corresponding to the notification data, the presentation style being based on determining whether a match exists;
presenting the notification in the application window according to the presentation style, the notification being presented while presentation of the content continues;
One or more computer-readable storage media for causing operations to be performed, including: The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 11, wherein the presentation style is determined from a plurality of presentation styles including inline presentation, in-application presentation, and in-flow presentation. the application window is presented by a video game console;
The operation further comprises:
receiving second notification data;
determining that the video game console is not presenting video game content within the foreground of a display ;
determining a user context of a user of the video game console, the user context indicating that the user is not viewing the content;
The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 11 , comprising presenting a second notification in a pop-up window on the application window based on the user context. the application is a video game application;
the content is video game content;
The operation further comprises:
receiving second notification data;
determining a user context of a user, the user context indicating that the user is playing the video game application;
The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 11 , comprising presenting a second notification in a pop-up window on the application window based on the user context.

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