The Google Phone app is quite effective at being something of a one-stop-shop for getting in touch with your contacts via voice, text, and video. The latest improvement to the Google Phone app beta adds a debatably handy Google Duo button onto the app’s main screens.
For over two years now, Google Duo has been deeply integrated with the Google Phone app, allowing you to swap seamlessly from a voice call to a Duo video call with a simple tap of a button. Similarly, when tapping on a contact who has Duo, you’re offered the option to directly video call them instead of voice calling.
This morning, the two apps grew even closer together, as the Google Phone app now prominently displays the Google Duo icon in a floating action button directly above the usual dialer button. As you might expect, tapping the button simply brings you directly to the Google Duo app’s main screen.
Admittedly, this isn’t the most useful shortcut, especially considering you can already easily launch into a Duo video call from Google Phone. More than anything, it feels like Google attempting to encourage people to use more of Duo’s features like 12-person group video calls.
So far, we’ve only seen the new button on Pixel phones running the latest Google Phone beta, version 50. If you have the Google Phone app beta on a non-Pixel phone, be sure to let us know in the comments whether or not the button has appeared for you.
Update: Reader ja.n. has informed us that the button is also appearing on non-Pixel phones including the Motorola Moto G7 Power.
More on Google Phone:
- [Update: Motorola too] Google Phone app picks up call recording for some Nokia devices in India
- Google’s dialer app for Pixels can now be installed on some other Android phones
- Messages 5.5 and Google Phone 44 betas add Material Theme icons
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