Version 18 of the Google Phone app is now rolling out to consumers. This version of the app brings new features including the modified bottom bar design and support for Android P. The call history, speed dial, and voicemail options were all previously located at the top area of the application directly below the search bar. The version 17 of the Google Phone app moved these options to the bottom of the app and placed the button for the keypad from the center to the lower right corner, while the version 18 of the software changes the color of the bottom bar from blue to white. In addition, the color of the text and icons of the bottom bar have been changed from white to black. Moreover, a teardown of the Google Phone app shows that the newest version of the software also brings support for Android P, joining Android Messages in the list of Google applications that already support the next major version of the operating system.
Aside from new features and updated design, the version 18 of the Google Phone app also changed the location of the software’s sound and vibration settings. In the latest version of the application, tapping on the sounds and vibration menu of the app will simply redirect the user to the system settings for sounds. In contrast, previous versions of the application had its own sound and vibration settings, where the user could choose their ringtones, activate the keypad tone, and enable vibrations.
The teardown of the Google Phone application also reveals that users will soon get the option to let the search giant review their voice messages. The review of voice messages, the tech firm claims, should help improve the quality of the voicemail transcriptions it offers to users. The teardown further reveals that the Mountain View-based tech company will anonymously store the voice messages that it reviews, while the support site linked in the app’s code adds that the voicemails will not be permanently stored in Google’s servers. The teardown also shows that both the “Speed Dial” and “Call History” options found in the app’s bottom bar will likely be renamed to “Favorites” and “Recent” respectively, although these changes are not yet live in the latest version of the Google Phone app.
