Google added “Highlights” to Contacts in December that made the Android app decidedly more than just a list of people. That Google Contacts feed now has a “For you” section that shows upcoming birthdays.
Expand Expanding Close
Back in 2020, Google Contacts was added to the side panel found in Gmail to let you quickly view people and recent conversations. You’re now getting the ability to directly edit contacts from the Google Workspace sidebar.
Expand Expanding Close
In addition to the one we spotted in November, Google Contacts for Android is getting a second homescreen widget that will let you pin favorites.
Expand Expanding Close
Back in September of 2021, Gmail gained a new “Google Illustrations” tool that lets you create a custom profile pic, and it’s now available in Google Contacts.
Expand Expanding Close
Besides the new icon, Google Contacts has seen quite a few changes in the past year, and the latest is a new “Highlights” tab.
Expand Expanding Close
Following last week’s announcement and mention during the Pixel’s December Feature Drop, Google has started rolling out two new Tiles for watches that quickly show when the sun will rise/set and your favorite contacts.
Expand Expanding Close
In addition to introducing a handful of Messages features, Google is rolling out new icons for the SMS/RCS app, as well as Phone and Contacts.
Expand Expanding Close
While we wait for YouTube’s to go back live, Google Contacts is in the process of getting a new Android widget that lets you more prominently place a person on your homescreen.
Expand Expanding Close
Google Contacts has rolled out its latest redesign, which trades in a simple list of details for neatly organized cards.
Expand Expanding Close
Continuing the trend of new and redesigned apps for Wear OS 3 in the past year, Google has released Contacts to the Play Store with a revamped look.
Expand Expanding Close
After first being spotted a month ago, the Google Contacts bottom bar redesign is now widely rolled out as the Android app now notes the date you added an individual.
Expand Expanding Close
The majority of Google’s apps today feature a bottom bar and Contacts for Android is now the latest to add it as part of a redesign that retains a modified navigation drawer.
Expand Expanding Close
Google Home devices have long let users place phone calls with just their voice. An upcoming Assistant change will restrict that calling capability to numbers saved in your Google Contacts.
Expand Expanding Close
The Gmail side panel today provides quick access to Calendar, Keep, and Tasks. Google is now bringing Contacts to the sidebar for Workspace and personal customers using Gmail.
Expand Expanding Close
Keeping in touch with your friends and family is much easier if you have their numbers saved, and if you use Android, then it’s almost certain that you’ll use Google Contacts — which has now joined the 1 billion download club on the Play Store.
Expand Expanding Close
Material You can be seen in various parts of the system on Android 12. The next big step for the company’s new design language is app updates, and that started with Google Camera seeing some tweaks this month. Google Contacts is now the inaugural first-party app to get a sizable Material You redesign.
Expand Expanding Close
Following a slew of Workspace developments in recent weeks, Google Contacts is getting visual tweaks and more information that’s particularly beneficial for people within a company.
Expand Expanding Close
The latest Google Contacts v3.38 update has added a convenient feature that lets you alter or change your Google Account profile picture from right within the application.
Expand Expanding Close
Google announced Trusted Contacts at the end of 2016 as location sharing tailored for family and friends. After nearly four years, a shutdown of Trusted Contacts, in favor of parallel functionality in Google Maps, was announced today.
Expand Expanding Close
The standalone Google Contacts application has now hit an impressive 500 million downloads on the Google Play Store, despite not being pre-installed on all Android devices.
Expand Expanding Close
Google Contacts will soon gain a fairly standard “Trash” feature, like Gmail, Photos, and even Android. Available on the web, it results in a two-step process for deleting contacts.
Expand Expanding Close
Google Contacts for Android has a very useful row of actions that lets you quick call, text, video, or email. Those in the US also have the ability to send P2P payments, but Google is planning on removing that functionality from Contacts.
At this point, most people have moved beyond paper contact books and just keep all of their friends numbers and information in their phone instead. Google Contacts does a great job of saving that information and, now, Google is finally making it possible to backup contacts that were created locally.
Last February, the old Google Contacts was permanently disabled in favor of the current Material iteration. That was done as feature parity neared, with Google a year later restoring the ability to create multiple contacts.
