How To: Bring iOS 7-Style Notifications to Your Samsung Galaxy S3 or Other Android Device

The design of iOS 7 has its lovers and haters, and if you're an Android user who just happens to love it, there are plenty of ways to make your device feel more Apple-y.

Tired of the TouchWiz launcher on your Samsung Galaxy S3? Try out Espier's Home and Lock Screens, which do an amazing job at recreating the iOS 7 look on Android.

But if you want the whole shebang, Espier has a new addition to their arsenal—Espier Notification iOS7—which brings the new Notification Center over to your GS3. Just like other Apple-styled plugins from Espier, you will need to have Espier Launcher iOS7 already installed on your device.

Espier's iOS 7-Styled Notification Center

The default Notification Center on the GS3 isn't terrible (image below on left), but you have to admit the iOS 7 version is a bit sexier (other images below).

Just as in iOS 7, there will be three categories of notifications—Today, All, and Missed. To access each section, you can swipe to the left or tap on the section title.

Adding an iOS 7-Styled Control Center (Optional)

You'll notice that the Quick Settings menu is no longer present in your new notification system. iOS 7 brought in Control Center to remedy this issue, and guess what... you can add that on your Samsung Galaxy S3, too.

So, if you want to still have quick access to the Wi-Fi, Orientation, Bluetooth, and so on, you should install the Android Control Center by Dr. Alexander__Breen. This version is even better than the standard quick settings, and better than the previously covered Control Center, as it allows you to add up to 15 applications for quick access.

Setting Up Notification Center Settings

Now that you have Espier Launcher and Notification Center installed on your device, you can now adjust the settings. On your Home Screen there will be an application called Espier Hub.

Once inside of the Hub, select Espier Notification iOS 7 Settings.

Enable Notification Services

First, make sure to enable Notification Services so that iOS 7 control center can receive information and display it properly to you. Right below the Espier Notification ON/OFF switch you'll see Notification Service. Select this, find Espier Notification iOS 7 under Services, and turn it ON.

Alternatively you can go to Settings -> Accessibility -> Services.

Customize Your Notification Settings

Back in the Espier Notification iOS 7 Settings, you can toggle on or off what you want to be displayed in the Notification Center, as well as selecting what apps or widgets you want to include or exclude.

Free vs. Paid

As you will notice in the free version, there are ads present. As per the Espier download page, the full paid version, "mainly provides support for customized backgrounds on the notification page, and the ads will be removed."

The Pro Version is available in the Play Store for $5.00. Given that the benefits other than backgrounds and ad removal are not clearly stated, I would stick with the free version. Five dollars is a pretty steep price to pay just for a custom Notification Center and Launcher.

Alternative: iOS Badge Notifications Only

If you don't want to install a brand new Notification Center for your Android, you can just install those cute little badge icons that alert you to how many unread messages/alerts you have in each app.

Check out Nelson's great walkthrough guide for more information and instructions.