Google preps updated and more useful Phone app for some Android and all compatible Pixel phones
The Google Phone app might not be the flashiest application on an Android phone. It is the default dialer on Google's own Pixel line and reportedly developers are prepping a new feature for the dialer that will allow some Android and all Pixel users to more easily browse through their calls. The update involves the creation of new tabs at the top of the screen that will list new categories including All, Missed, Contacts, Non-Spam, and Spam.
The new tabs were discovered by Android Authority while looking through a beta version of the Google Phone app (version 159.0.718038457-publicbeta-pixel2024 beta). With the update, some Android and all Pixel users will finally gain parity with iOS users who are allowed to seamlessly move between viewing all of their incoming calls, outgoing calls, and incoming calls they missed with a quick tap. When an iPhone user wants to switch between viewing all outgoing and incoming calls he made and received to seeing the incoming calls he missed, he will tap the "All-Missed" switcher at the top of the Recents page.
A future update to the Google Phone app could change how Android and Pixel users access their incoming and outgoing calls. | Image credit-Android Authority
All Android and some Pixel users currently get to see all incoming calls, outgoing calls, and missed calls by opening the Phone app and tapping the Recents tab at the bottom of the screen. Once the update is disseminated, pressing the Recent button will allow these users to view their call history sorted into different categories:
- All-View all incoming and outgoing calls.
- Missed-Incoming calls that you missed.
- Contacts-Incoming and outgoing calls involving a phone number in your contacts list.
- Non-Spam-Incoming calls that did not set off a Spam warning.
- Spam-Incoming calls that set off 1the Spam warning.
It isn't clear when Google will release this update, but the fact that it currently resides inside a beta version of the Google Phone app could indicate that the update could be some time away. We should also point out that while Google's update doesn't include a separate tab for outgoing calls, there is hope that this will be a feature that Google will add down the road. Right now, after Android Authority was able to activate the update revealing the new tabs at the top of the display, only the "All" tab is working.
This doesn't seem like a major update for some Android and all Pixel users although the bottom line is that users will be able to go through their phone calls more easily. That makes this a very useful update indeed.
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