APK teardown reveals two snazzy new resizable widgets
The Google Contacts app for Android doesn’t get a lot of flashy updates, but that’s okay — it does a simple job, and it does it well. Really, one of the only complaints you could have without nitpicking is the fact that its widgets look like something out of the Android Oreo days. Thankfully, recent code changes seem to indicate that Google is readying a major widget makeover for the Contacts app.
The current Google Contacts widgets are essentially 1×1 icons that cannot be resized, and there are only three options. One pulls up a single person’s contact information, another dials that contact in one tap, and the last one opens your default texting app to the message thread with that contact. According to code changes spotted in an APK teardown performed by 9to5Google, two new widgets could soon bring drastic changes and Material You styling to this ages-old system.
The first widget is called “Favorite Contacts,” at least during development, and it lets you add up to seven contacts to the same widget. It starts out as a 4×1 widget showing only the first three contacts when you add it, but you can drag to resize until you’re shown two rows of contacts. If you resize the widget to be tall enough, it will even split into a two-column layout.
Source: 9to5Google
The other new widget is more traditional and will presumably replace the current 1×1 call, contact, and text widget. This one has a working title of “Individual Contact” and gives you quick access to a single person as its name suggests, but interestingly, it features three buttons in one widget. Google has been working on this widget since at least November, so it’s likely to be closer to its final form here.
In its default 3×2 layout, you’ll see the contact’s photo, and tapping this should open their contact card. There are two badges on this version of the widget — tapping the smaller button in the top-right will open your text thread with this person, while pressing the larger button in the bottom-left will initiate a call. This widget can be resized to a 2×1 or 4×1 layout, with both options providing a more traditional interface where you can tap one of three separate buttons to call, text, or open the contact card.
Source: 9to5Google
These widgets aren’t live yet in the latest version of Google Contacts on the Play store, which stands at version 4.1.17.505591926 at the time of writing. But if you want to get on the bleeding edge, you can always check for newer versions on APKMIrror.
