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Not a fan of full-screen Calling Cards? Keep an eye out for this update
Oct 23, 2026 — 3:41 PM ET
- Google is working on a new Compact Photo option for Calling Cards in its Phone app.
- The option could let users display smaller contact photos instead of full-screen images.
- Four color presets have surfaced, potentially allowing users to customize the background behind these smaller photos. The feature isn’t functional yet.
One of the Google Phone app‘s coolest additions may have started out as a bit of a copy of Apple’s Contact Posters, but an upcoming option could help Google differentiate its implementation. The feature I’m talking about is Calling Cards, and it looks like Google wants to give users more flexibility over how they appear on your phone’s screen.
Up until now, Calling Cards have appeared as full-screen images whenever a contact you’ve assigned an image to calls you — same as how Apple’s version works. But not everyone wants a huge image filling their phone’s entire screen every time someone calls. That’s what Google appears to be addressing.
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In the latest Phone by Google beta, version 244.0.1001930441-publicbeta-pixel2026, we managed to partially enable an upcoming Compact photo option for Calling Cards. While the feature isn’t functional just yet, we were able to surface an early look at its menu.
As you can see in the screenshot above, your Calling Card customization screen could soon offer two sections: Full photo (this is what you have right now) and a new Compact photo option. The UI for this new option features four colored tiles, but no buttons to add photos from the likes of your Gallery, Google Photos, or Camera. Tapping the tiles also does nothing, at least for now.
Compared to the Full photo option, this new one literally suggests that you’ll be able to give your Calling Card photos a more compact look. But other than what the name implies, we haven’t uncovered anything that explicitly points to the ability to surface smaller Calling Card photos.
We did find code strings connected to the four colored tiles, and they’re apparently presets named Coral, Olive, Teal, and Violet.
<string name="default_calling_card_preset_coral">Coral</string>
<string name="default_calling_card_preset_olive">Olive</string>
<string name="default_calling_card_preset_teal">Teal</string>
<string name="default_calling_card_preset_violet">Violet</string>Again, that doesn’t give us much to go by, and this is where our speculation comes in.
It’s possible that the functionality would display a compact Calling Card image against the solid backgrounds. So, instead of the image taking up the entire screen, the color you select will take over the screen, with a small “Compact” image in the middle.
Google might simply reuse the image you’ve already assigned to the full-screen Calling Card, and the Compact photo tiles might just serve as one-tap buttons to change the background color.
Regardless of how the feature eventually ends up working, it would be a welcome addition for those who want personalized calling cards but don’t want those cards to take up the full screen every time their phone rings.
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