Google Phone

It was only a couple of months ago that the Google Phone app was spotted preparing a revamped dialer design with some Material You flare. Now, the update is officially starting to roll out.

In response to a research paper outlining the data collected by Google’s Phone and Messages apps, including call and text records, the company has updated both apps to better respect privacy.

Material You elements quickly took over various Google apps in the lead-up and following the rollout of Android 12, but it seems Google isn’t done. Hidden in the latest Google Phone update is a new dialer design that has some familiar Material You elements.

With the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, Google is following up last year’s “Hold for Me” with new “Direct My Call” and “Wait Times” capabilities in the Phone dialer app.

Google Phone is the latest app to get a Material You makeover ahead of Android 12’s release later this year.

Update: Within days of the Material You design rolling out, Google Phone has gained the dynamic colors to match, for some.

The call recording feature announced for the Google Phone app has had a slow rollout, but it is now coming to eligible Pixel devices across the globe.

Android 12 brings with it a big overhaul to notifications and Quick Settings. Many parts of the redesign launched with Android 12 Beta 1, but Google is now rolling out an “Ongoing call” chip for the Phone app.

The Phone by Google app — as it’s officially named — is a key part of the Pixel experience, and home to a handful of Assistant and other smart features. Google is now testing a settings redesign in the Phone app to make everything more manageable.

Besides unveiling Material You, Google at I/O 2021 last month detailed how “GS Text” is the company’s new font and beginning to appear in more first-party applications. Google Sans Text is now in use by the Phone app on Android. 

Google Phone is making it easier than ever to message a business instead of calling them with a new “Chat” button.

To help you screen unwanted calls, the Google Phone app is rolling out the Caller ID Announcement feature that will announce the name and number of any incoming calls.

The Google Phone app has been working on call recording for some time now with the feature live in several regions. Now, the app is preparing an enhancement to call recording that sees Google Phone automatically recording calls from unknown numbers that aren’t in your contacts.

In recent weeks, Google has brought its Android dialer to non-Pixel devices and tweaked the Play Store listing. It now appears that an upcoming rebrand will give the Phone app a new logo and name: “Google Call.”

One of the most impressive software features to debut with the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 is “Hold for Me.” The Google Assistant will stay on the line until an actual human being comes on for you to directly interact with.

Somewhat overshadowed by the launch of Android 11, Google at the start of this month brought its Phone app to non-Pixel devices and added a new “Verified Calls” capability. To coincide with this launch, the app is now called “Phone by Google” on the Play Store.

The Google Phone app might have just recently made the jump from Pixel phones, but it looks as though the dialer is adding some small but notable dark mode tweaks.

Last year, Google launched Verified SMS in Messages for Android to reduce spam. The Google Phone app is now picking up a “Verified Calls” capability as the dialer officially becomes available for many more non-Pixel devices.

After expanding to a few models seemingly at random earlier this year, the Google Phone dialer app is expanding to more Android smartphones. With its latest beta, it appears to work on just about any device.

We’re quickly approaching the debut of the OnePlus Nord and, ahead of that official launch, OnePlus continues to tease details about the device. Now, in a brief video on Instagram, OnePlus has confirmed some Google apps that will come pre-loaded on Nord, including Google Messages.