Summary
- Google is developing a ‘Pixel Besties’ feature to consolidate conversations with key contacts across different messaging platforms, aiming to simplify communication management.
- This feature, previously known as ‘Besties’ or ‘VIPs,’ will allow users to create a ‘besties’ list, aggregating their interactions (messages, calls, updates) with those contacts into a unified view. WhatsApp appears to be the first platform to integrate.
- Evidence for ‘Pixel Besties’ has been found in the WhatsApp beta, including a dedicated content provider API and references to a potential ‘Pixel Relationship’ app that may manage these consolidated conversations and offer a home screen widget.
Late last week, we learned that Google might be working on integrating a dedicated WhatsApp video call button right within Google Messages. While this doesn’t unlock the app’s true interoperability potential, it does mark a step in the right direction by allowing users to make WhatsApp calls without having to leave Google Messages.
However, as it turns out, the integration might just be much deeper than we had initially expected.
Related
Starting WhatsApp video calls from Google Messages could soon be a thing
Interoperability? Not in the truest sense
The tech giant knows that the average user has several messaging and social media apps on their phones, and keeping track of conversations with specific users across the disparate list can be a chore. To make the process of managing such conversations easier, Google seems to be working on a feature that might consolidate all your conversations with key contacts in a centralized hub.
Previously spotted as Besties and VIPs, the in-development feature seems to have been rebranded to Pixel Besties, and it will essentially allow you to add specific contacts that you engage with the most to a dedicated ‘besties’ list. Once added, all conversations with said contacts on supported platforms will be consolidated into a single, unified view, highlighting messages, calls, local updates, alongside the option to “create new memories with them.” According to Android Authority, WhatsApp could be the very first platform to integrate with Pixel Besties.
Add your Pixel Besties to Pixel Relationship
Source: Android Authority
WhatsApp v2.25.3.22 beta highlights the presence of a central ‘content provider’ API that WhatsApp can access and modify. For reference, com.whatsapp.pixel.besties.provider.PixelBestiesApiContentProvider is the content provider here, which will act as the central hub where apps like WhatsApp can come to share and modify information (messages, calls, etc., in the case of the Pixel Besties feature).
The code also suggests that the feature might live within a dedicated app called Pixel Relationship (com.google.android.apps.pixel.relationships), which could come pre-installed with the next Pixel Feature Drop. The app could also have a widget that highlights the consolidated information on your Pixel’s home screen, starting off with aggregated bestie data from Google Messages and WhatsApp. It’s safe to speculate that other apps, especially Google’s own and Meta’s Messenger, will soon follow suit.
