Android Phone App Prefixes Country Codes To Calls, Tweaks Oreo Navigation Bar

Google is rolling out a new version of its Phone app for Android devices. The update comes with new features, including one that will come handy for travelers.

On Monday, Google began rolling out a new update for its Phone app just days after a previous version was released. The update reportedly enables a feature called Assisted Dialling, which is mainly designed for international travelers.

According to Android Police, v15 of the Phone app will now make it easy for users to make calls when they are in a different country. The new version of the app enables Assisted Dialling that basically prefixes phone calls with the appropriate country code of the user’s home country when they are away or staying in a foreign country.

The feature, which is found on the settings screen of the app, is expected to save users’ time. Plus, it eliminates the hassle of having to manually enter the country code when making phone calls. This feature is by default enabled once v15 is installed.

Aside from the new Assisted Dialling feature, Google has also modified the Phone app to feature a white navigation bar on Android 8.1 Oreo-running devices. This is the latest Google app to receive such modification after Maps, Gmail, Photos and a couple of others.

The reason why Google did this to the Android Oreo navigation bar is to hamper the effects of screen burn-in now that OLED smartphones are becoming more and more ubiquitous. The switch to an all-white bar benefits OLED displays since the pixels are evenly abused.

Another feature that Android Police spotted during its teardown of v15 is pre-call support for dual-SIM handsets. What this means is that the Phone app could soon enable a pre-call interface for when users choose between which SIM card to use before starting a call.

The latest version of Google’s Phone app for Android devices comes just days after a previous version was launched on the Play Store. The previous update enabled the capability to make Duo video calls from inside the Phone app provided Google Duo is installed and activated on the user’s device.

With the previous update, users were able to initiate a Duo video call from the call log, search or contacts card. Plus, the option to upgrade a voice call to a Duo video call was also added. Furthermore, the update improved the user experience of the app with its bug fixes and performance improvements.

Google advises that Android device users should always update their Phone app to the latest version. “Update the Phone app for your Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) or newer device to improve your calling experience and gain control over calls with features like Google Duo video calling, spam protection, and caller ID.”