As many here are aware, USNA launched a new Admission platform last year, and as with every new software launch, there is a series of continuous improvements. This may result in changes to the system from time to time, and there is little benefit to trying to analyze the meaning of every little change.
The process for giving notice of appointments has been discussed here extensively. Once USNA has made the decision to offer an appointment, they normally give the nominating MOC a few days to notify the candidate themself. Some do this by random phone call (so answer your phone) some by email, and some don't do anything all. Under the old BGIS system, BGO's were aware that this was in process with a Pending Notification entry, but it was not included in the Candidate portal. (If the MOC didn't chose to make the notification themself, USNA would simply send the notice and it would appear in both Candidate and BGO portals.
If Candidates were seeing the Pending Notification entry in their portal, I suspect this was an inadvertent error in the system during the continuous improvement process, as it defeats the purpose of giving the MOC the opportunity to give their nominees the good news. Admissions (or probably USNA IT) likely discovered and in process of correcting the error.
Bottom line, the Admissions platform is still evolving, and you may see temporary changes from time to time. There is no reason to overthink or anticipate what a change may mean. If you get an Appointment, you will know it.