With Android 16’s new Calling Cards, Pixel users have finally tapped into a level of contact customization that iPhone users have had access to since 2023’s iOS 17. However, there’s room for more improvement.

Calling Cards are great when you have a view of your phone’s display, but Google wants to give you more ways to customize contacts, especially for instances when your phone isn’t right in front of your eyes.

Google Phone app running on Pixel phone calling a tester

For what it’s worth, that is partly possible by assigning important contacts distinct ringtones. However, depending on where you are, your phone might not always be set to general. For those situations, Google wants to give you an additional way of recognizing who’s calling, and it could do so by borrowing yet another feature from iOS and One UI.

First highlighted by the folks over at Android Authority after digging into version 4.63.22.800982376 of the Google Contacts app, your Pixel might soon let you set custom vibration patterns for individual contacts. For what it’s worth, Apple has offered this functionality for the longest time, while Samsung started offering it in 2021 with One UI 3.1

Here’s what the code reveals

<string name="default_vibration_name">Default Vibration</string>

<string name=”ringtone_and_vibration_name”>%1$s / %2$s</string>

<string name=”vibration_name”>Vibration: %1$s</string>

Although the feature couldn’t be manually enabled, code strings found within the build offer a pretty clear glimpse into Google’s plans. References like “vibration_name” and the ability to combine “ringtone_and_vibration” suggest that the feature will likely exist within current contact settings. It could offer users the option to select different ‘default’ vibrations for contacts, i.e., vibration patterns already available on device.

On the other hand, setting a ‘vibration name’ might suggest iOS-like functionality, where users can create their own custom vibration patterns and then give them unique names.

If and when the feature rolls out, it will be a compelling addition for those who primarily keep their phone on vibrate. In the meantime, if you’d like to try out what the functionality might feel like, you can check out third-party apps like BuzzKill.