Google is reportedly testing a new navigation bar in Android Phone app

Google is reportedly working on a new navigation bar for the existing Google dialer app on its Android devices. The new interface will bring the in-app shortcuts — recent, contacts and favourites to the bottom of the screen. The new Phone app is a customised version of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) dialer. 

The new update is hidden in the version 17 of the Phone dialer app, so you’ll need to root your phone to enable this feature. The report on XDA Developers explains the whole process on how to get the UI on your phone right now. But make sure you follow the steps right to stay void of messing with XML codes. 

Source- XDA Developers

Source- XDA Developers

The new Google Phone design resides the contacts, history, speed dial at the bottom and it also brings a new VoiceMail tab right next to it. The iconography and design of the bottom pallet remains the same, but it now has text labels for better identification.

The Phone app has been updated quite a few times recently. Some of the new features include real-time spam protection, call blocking, caller ID and local directory feature.

It’s still not confirmed if Google will even push this new update in near future or not.

Sudhanshu Singh

Sudhanshu Singh have been working in tech journalism as a reporter, writer, editor, and reviewer for over 5 years. He has reviewed hundreds of products ranging across categories and have also written opinions, guides, feature articles, news, and analysis. Ditching the norm of armchair journalism in tech media, Sudhanshu dug deep into how emerging products and services affect actual users, and what marks they leave on our cultural landscape.
His areas of expertise along with writing and editing include content strategy, daily operations, product and team management.