Innovation often comes hand-in-hand with inspiration, and Google clearly seems to have been inspired. The Mountain View, California-based tech giant is currently hard at work developing a new Calling Cards feature, and it is clearly taking cues from Apple’s Contact Posters.
The latter, for reference, is a feature introduced in iOS 17 that lets you assign a dedicated image and name to your own contact poster. Complete with customization, this is the contact poster that is visible to others that have you saved in their contact list. Google is developing something similar, and its implementation could soon show up in the Google Contacts app.
Hints about the feature first started appearing within code strings in late June, with relevant text prompts that might show up on the feature’s banner and UI when it eventually rolls out. These include “Picture and calling card,” and “Set this image as both a contact picture and calling card.” That alone was enough to give us an idea of what the feature might entail, but the fact that these cards would be saved on the cloud and sync across devices gave extra confirmation that Calling Cards could be just like iOS’ Contact Posters.
Now, further code strings unearthed by the folks over at Android Authority in Google Contact’s version 4.60.30.783994635 paint a clearer picture, highlighting support for customization and how users will interact with Calling Cards.
You’ll be able to opt out
<string name="calling_card_promo_card_header">Try adding a calling card</string>
<string name=”calling_card_promo_card_supporting_text”>Customize how %s appears during calls</string>
<string name=”dismiss_calling_card_promo_card_all_contacts_button”>All contacts</string>
<string name=”dismiss_calling_card_promo_card_body_text”>Dismiss this suggestion for all contacts or only this contact?</string>
<string name=”dismiss_calling_card_promo_card_this_contact_button”>This contact</string>
Hints like “customize how X appears during calls” clearly indicate that users will be able to customize their card, potentially with emojis, different color hues, monograms, and different fonts. “Try adding a calling card,” on the other hand, will likely show up on a banner when the feature first goes live.
Further, options like “dismiss” Calling Card prompts for “all contacts” might suggest that users would be able to opt out if they don’t wish to create a Calling Card, while an option to selectively display Calling Cards to certain contacts while keeping them private from other contacts could also add some granular control.
It’s not entirely clear when Calling Cards might debut. The fact that Google continues to add new code strings related to the feature suggests that work on Calling Cards is still ongoing.
