Is Google readying a rival to iOS’ Contact Poster? (APK teardown)
TL;DR
- We’ve spotted clues that indicate Google is working on a “calling card” feature for Android.
- The feature may allow for full-screen images and custom fonts for incoming calls.
- Speculatively, it could be similar to iOS’ Contact Posters, enabling users to personalize their call display.
Google and Apple frequently look at each other’s operating systems for inspiration on what next to bring to their own. We’ve seen iOS copy features like widgets, free app icon placement on the home screen, and more from Android. On the other hand, we’ve spotted Google working on features like Handoff, which are a page out of Apple’s book. We’ve now spotted clues for an in-development “calling card” feature, which could potentially become Android’s answer to iOS’ Contact Posters.
An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
What we know about “Calling Cards”
The Google Contacts app has slowly built up code for a “calling card” feature over the past few releases. For instance, v4.55 of the app adds the following strings:
Code
<string name="change_photo_calling_card_heading">Picture and calling card</string>
<string name="use_calling_card_as_photo_body_text">Set this image as both a contact picture and calling card</string>This string alone doesn’t give many clues about what is happening, other than letting us know that users will be set an image as a contact picture and a calling card. The string name suggests the image comes from the calling card itself, so you’d be setting the calling card as the contact picture.
The real ‘aha!’ moment came from a new Calling Card activity, where we spotted “CallingCardFontData” and “CallingCardFullScreenImageData.” This is where things get exciting: custom fonts and full-screen images. Sound familiar?
AssembleDebug / Android Authority
We have to dig into Google Play Services for the next set of clues. We’ve seen code related to saving calling cards to the cloud and syncing them to the device:
AssembleDebug / Android Authority
These strings also do not tell us what a Calling Card is, but they tell us that calling cards can be created, deleted, updated, synced, and more. Unfortunately, we don’t have a definitive answer on what the upcoming Calling Cards feature within Google Contacts could be, and what it could do.
So, what exactly are these “calling cards,” then? While Google’s apps remain tight-lipped about their exact functionality, the clues point to them potentially being Android’s answer to iOS 17’s delightful Contact Posters.
iOS 17’s Contact Posters
With iOS 17, Apple introduced a new feature called Contact Posters, which are full-screen photos that appear whenever you call a known contact.
Users can set their photo, personalize it with filters, and set the font and font color for their name.
The next time the user calls a known contact, the receiver will see the user’s set Contact Poster.
Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority
The Contact Poster also works with the NameDrop feature, which allows users to quickly share their contact information through AirDrop by bringing their devices close together.
Overall, the Contact Poster feature changed the dynamic of setting contact photos, a task that most of us never really bother with. Instead of you setting contact photos for all the contacts on your phone, each person can set it for themselves as they see fit and share it with you. This way, you have updated photos for your iPhone-using contacts, and you can still set a custom profile photo for them if you want to.
Could “Calling cards” be Google’s answer to iOS’ Contact Poster?
Contact Poster beats having boring and blank incoming call screens, adding to the experience of owning and using an iPhone. Speculatively, clues like font information and full-screen images for Google’s Calling Cards feature add weight to the possibility that this is the experience Google could also be building for Android users. Most of us have already set a photo for our Google account, and syncing this information with our contacts would be an easy way to bring Contact Poster-like functionality to Android.
It is worth reiterating that we still don’t know what Google Contact’s Calling Cards are. It is a fair possibility that they turn out to be something else entirely. Google has also not announced anything yet about them. We’ll watch for more clues about the feature and update you when we learn more.
