Last year’s Material 3 Expressive redesign of the Phone by Google app removed the Contacts tab, but it’s now coming back.
Update 10/19: As of today, Phone by Google beta users on version 243 should have the new Contacts tab. Be sure to Force stop from App info if you’re not seeing it yet. This server-side update has yet to arrive for those on the stable channel.
Top comment by Brokep
Great, the decision to remove it was perplexing. However, now that contacts has been moved to the bottom navigation rail, the hamburger menu is almost useless. Settings, Clear call history, and help & feedback should be moved to a regular overflow menu.
Google's great at inconsistency.
Original 10/1: The August 2025 update simplified app navigation to Home, Keypad, and Voicemail. The Contacts tab was moved to the navigation drawer, with another access point as part of the Favorites carousel at the top of the main feed.
Google is now reverting the main change, with Contacts reappearing as a tab between Home and Keypad. The navigation drawer shortcut has been removed, while all the other ways to access it remain.
It’s a straightforward addition that presumably reflects how much people use the dialer application for contacts access.
This Contacts tab is slowly rolling out in the Phone by Google beta (version 240+) and is not yet widely available for testers.
More on Google Phone:
- Pixel 11 starts testing ‘Call for Me’ to have Gemini phone on your behalf
- Google Phone app on Wear OS gets Material 3 Expressive redesign
- Pixel Phone app rolling out custom Take a Message greetings
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