Pixel Phone App Rolls Out Call Interface Redesign, History Filters

Google today is out with a blog post recapping Pixel Call Assist features that also confirms the rollout of the call UI redesign and Recents filters. 

Previously, you accessed Call Notes (and Audio Emoji) on the Pixel 9 by tapping the “More” button. Now, Google shows large pills for Call Assist and Audio Emoji above the four circular Keypad, Mute, Phone, and More (which has been simplified) buttons.

As noted by the chevron, tapping brings up a sheet with a big card for “Call Notes: Live transcripts & summary of your call.” This started appearing for beta users in January, and Google today acknowledged the rollout: “We even recently updated the Pixel phone call interface so you have quick access to Call Assist as well as other features like Call Notes, Direct my Call and Audio Emoji.”

We’re only seeing this UI on the Pixel 9 series, which are the only phones to offer Call Notes today. 

Old vs. new

Meanwhile, Google today confirmed the “new filters in your Recents view” that help declutter your call log. There are chips for: All, Missed, Contacts, Non-spam, and Spam. The search bar above it is also now taller.

These new filters make it easy to quickly find missed calls, calls from contacts and even filter out spam calls entirely, so your call history isn’t totally overrun with random numbers.

With the beta (version 162), we’re also seeing this on non-Pixel devices that have Phone by Google installed.

Google’s post today also talks about reverse phone number lookup, Direct My Call, Hold for Me, and Call Screen suggested replies. 

There’s also a section about using Live Caption to  “read” incoming phone calls and respond to them by typing. 

A text box and keyboard will appear, and you’ll see the caller’s words written out. You’ll be able to type back to respond, as the app will read your input aloud to the caller. You can even head to Live Caption’s settings to select the voice that will read your texts out loud to callers4

To enable, go to Settings > Accessibility > Live Caption > Live Caption in calls. 

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