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Google Contacts could streamline connected app video calls (APK teardown)
- Google Contacts could soon make it easier to initiate video calls.
- You’ll soon be able to set a default app for video calls, namely for Connected Apps such as WhatsApp.
- When Connected Apps are not present, Google Contacts will better indicate that it will initiate a carrier-driven video call.
Google Contacts is one of those apps on our phones that we almost take for granted. This contact management app is rather underrated for its ease of use, and Google even does a good job of integrating it with third-party communication apps. There’s always room for improvement, and with a future version of the Contacts app, Google could make the app work even better with connected apps.
An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
Google Contacts v4.46.53.705303683 is improving the process for initiating video calls from within the Contacts app.
Currently, the Google Contacts app shows the video call button on the Contact details page. Clicking on the video call button initiates a video call through your carrier. You also see Connected apps such as WhatsApp on this page. Clicking on the expand button presents options for sending a message, audio call, and video call through WhatsApp, saving you from opening that app and navigating to the specific contact again for further actions.
In the future, Google could improve the Connected Apps experience, especially for video calls. Long pressing the video call button will open up the ability to set a default app for video calls, so you can choose between a carrier-driven video call or a WhatsApp video call. When you set a third-party connected app as the default, you see their icon on the video call option. The next time you click the video call button, it will initiate the video call directly through the set app, saving you a few clicks.
If the contact card has multiple numbers, you can long-press the video call button to see a list of all available calling options, once again saving you a few clicks.
Further, once you have set a default app for video calls, there may be instances where the contact isn’t present on that app. In such cases, you will see a network bar icon on the video call option, making it clear that clicking the video call button will initiate a carrier-driven video call. You can see the icon clearly in the dark mode screenshots below:
These may look like minor changes, but they improve the end-user experience by seamlessly connecting apps. These changes are not yet live. We’ll keep you updated when we learn more.