Summary
- Google Phone is undergoing a significant revamp for easier call sorting with the addition of new filters.
- The under-development filters include All, Missed, Contacts, Non-Spam, and Spam, providing enhanced functionality.
- These filters were spotted within a beta release of Google Phone, and there’s currently no fixed date for their wider rollout.
Google Phone (or Phone by Google) is the default dialer app on several Android smartphones, including Google’s own Pixel lineup. The app generally doesn’t see major feature additions, except for the festive Audio Emojis rolled out each year. But that could change imminently, as Google is now confirmed to be working on a significant revamp to its dialer app, designed to let users sort through their calls more easily.
Looking through Google Phone (version 159.0.718038457-publicbeta-pixel2024 beta), Android Authority has activated a horizontal row of filters at the top of the call log. A total of five filters will appear here, including All, Missed, Contacts, Non-Spam, and Spam. Unfortunately, only the missed calls filter is functional at the moment.
Ideally, we would like to see a filter for outgoing calls, too, but Google could always choose to add more of them later. Downloading the aforementioned beta version of the app won’t let you take these filters for a spin since they were activated manually. However, considering the amount of work that has gone into it, we hope a widespread release is not far away.
A much-needed addition to Google’s dialer app
Screenshots of the under-development All, Missed, and Spam filters
The Phone app currently lets you filter between all calls and missed calls via the Recents tab, though the process is not as straightforward as you’d think. Users are first required to tap the three-dot menu at the top of the Recents tab, followed by the Call history option in the menu. By contrast, the Apple iPhone’s dialer app seamlessly lets you switch between all calls and missed calls within the Recents tab.
Thanks to these new under-development filters in the Google Phone app, Android smartphone users could finally gain parity with their iPhone counterparts. Given that these filters were spotted in a beta of the Google Phone app, we suspect it may be a while until they’re widely available to all users.
It’s unclear if Google will remove the Call history option from the Recents tab’s three-dot menu since this newly discovered filter-based redesign makes that option (and others) more easily accessible.
