All of Google’s Android apps are currently undergoing a major design transformation to match up with Android 16’s Material 3 Expressive, and its Phone app is no exception. Last month, we reported on what Google’s Phone app might look like after the visual makeover. In addition to the “Expressive” design changes, Google has other major plans for the Phone app.
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One of Google’s plans is to change the way users reach the most important people in the Phone app. As spotted by Telegram user @h_muc, the Mountain View tech giant seems to have started reworking the “Favourite” section to move it somewhere else in the app (via Android Authority). While the change may appeal to some users, it looks like Google has dropped an important feature in the process.
Google Phone app offers a new home for people who matter most
The Phone app currently features a separate tab at the bottom for quick access to the most important people in your life. However, this may not always be the case, as the Telegram user received an updated design where the Favorite section now appears at the top of the recent call history list. You can tap on it to reveal your pinned favourite contacts. It also shows the option to pin contacts as favorites.
Image source: Android Authority
This means more blank space in the bottom bar, which now includes only two tabs, including “Recent” and “Contacts.” It might look cleaner, but one major caveat is that Google seems to haven’t been able to find a solution to incorporate the “Frequents” section, which shows a list of people you contacted more often, in the new Favorites section.
This suggests that Google is either planning to remove the Frequent section from the new layout or is considering moving it somewhere else in the Phone app. It’s currently unclear which way the company will go.
It looks like Google is currently A/B testing these two features, so it might not show up for you even if you update the Phone app to the latest version. That means Google also has time to work on addressing the above-mentioned issue before rolling out the Favourites layout to everyone. In addition, we would also love to see Google add some of the missing features to its Phone app. The sooner, the better.
