What you need to know
- Google is seemingly working on a way to make initiating video calls faster in the Contacts app.
- A tipster discovered that users can set a third-party app as their new default, which means starting a video call would be a tap away in your preferred app.
- Google recently revamped its contact creation page, making it much faster to write down what matters most without all the clutter.
Google was spotted working on bringing additional support to its Contacts app that will enhance existing support for video calls.
During a deep dive into Google Contacts by AssembleDebug (Android Authority), the tipster found that the company is working to make initiating video calls quicker than before. According to the tipster, the Contacts app is currently testing a new long-press option alongside the ability to set a third-party app as your "default" calling avenue.
The APK teardown shows that, after opening a contact's profile page, users can long-press the video call icon, which will produce a new sub-menu. This menu holds all of the available ways you can video call someone. The default option is "carrier video calling," while other apps like Google Meet can be seen, too. If you've connected with that same contact in a third-party app, it will show in this new menu.
The tipster adds that this small "video call" menu lets you set an app as your default for video calls. In this case, AssembleDebug uses WhatsApp as an example, stating that if it's set as your default, your contact's video call button will have a mini WhatsApp logo on it.
This subtle change is said to streamline the process as users can quickly tap the video call button to communicate via their preferred app. The tipster notes that this is much quicker than the current way, which requires users to dive into the "Connected Apps" tab on their contact's saved profile page.
The post adds that if you've saved multiple phone numbers for a person, long-pressing the video call will display each alongside the app you can call them at.
This slight rework of the Google Contacts video calling method was spotted in version 4.46.53.70. There's no clear indication at the moment of when users could see this arrive in the stable build.
This change seems certain to make usingWhat seems certain with this change is that it will help make a user's usage of third-party apps even easier. Popular Android apps like WhatsApp and Telegram both support video calls. This quick method of setting one as a default will help users who prefer those apps over the primary alternative, Google Meet.
Moreover, this small rework to video calling could pair well with the Contact app's recent fresh coat of paint. Google refreshed the process behind creating new contacts in the app, which incorporates a cleaner, more user-friendly approach to things. The key details are highlighted much sooner and more prominently when compared to the old way.
There is still the option of tinkering with those extra details; however, they're much further down and out of your way in an "Add fields" button.
