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What you need to know
Google appears to be enhancing the functionality of its Contacts app to facilitate faster initiation of video calls. A recent discovery shared by a tipster indicates that users will soon have the ability to designate a third-party application as their default choice for making video calls, streamlining the process to just a single tap in their preferred app.
In an effort to improve user experience, Google has already made significant updates to the contact creation interface, simplifying the process by allowing users to focus on essential details without unnecessary distractions.
As detailed in an investigative report by AssembleDebug on Android Authority, Google is testing new features designed to expedite the initiation of video calls from within the Contacts app. Users may soon see the introduction of a long-press option that would enable them to select a default calling app easily.
The exploration of the Contacts application revealed that once a user’s contact profile is accessed, long-pressing the video call icon will bring up a submenu displaying various options for video communication. Among these, the default will be “carrier video calling,” alongside alternatives like Google Meet. This menu will also include any third-party applications used to connect with that contact.
According to the tipster, this new video call menu will empower users to set their preferred messaging app, such as WhatsApp, as the default for video calls. Consequently, if WhatsApp is selected as the default, users will notice a miniature WhatsApp logo next to the video call button for their contacts.
This modification is expected to enhance efficiency, allowing users to connect via their chosen app with a single tap, as opposed to the current method that entails navigating to the “Connected Apps” tab within a contact’s saved details.
Additionally, the update is designed to accommodate users with multiple phone numbers saved for a single contact. In such cases, long-pressing the video call icon will reveal each number along with the associated app for calling.
This adjustment in the Google Contacts app is identified in version 4.46.53.70, though no official timeline has been provided regarding when these features will be available in the stable version of the app.
The implications of this change are significant, promising to enhance user convenience when utilizing popular third-party communication apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, which both support video calling. The ease of designating a preferred app for video calls will undoubtedly benefit those who favor these alternatives over Google’s own video calling solution, Google Meet.
Moreover, this refinement aligns well with the app’s recent overhaul, which introduced a cleaner aesthetic and a more user-centric approach to creating new contacts. Key details are now presented more prominently, allowing for quicker access compared to the previous layout.
While users still have the option to customize additional contact details, these can now be found further down in an “Add fields” section, keeping the interface streamlined and intuitive.
Source
www.androidcentral.com