Samsung Galaxy S8 ‘Places’ Feature: Calling Local Businesses Made Easier With Hiya

Amid all the buzz surrounding the shipment of Samsung’s latest flagship, the Galaxy S8, there is a little-talked-about feature that improves the smartphone’s core function: calling. And it can be found in the form of a new tab called “Places” that appears on the home screen.

The new feature replaces the “Favorites” tab in the native dialer, and gives users a way to find and call local businesses, one that is integrated into the dialer itself. Located alongside the Log and Contacts tabs, Places will use your location to list nearby establishments under various categories — such as automotive, financial, health, public services, restaurants and shopping.

Read: Samsung Galaxy S8, S8+ Don’t Have Bixby Assistant Installed By Default

Places eliminates the need to go to a browser or a map to find a local establishment and its contact details just so you can call it up. Designed to make calling local businesses more convenient, Places is powered by Hiya. The Seattle spam protection and caller profile company launched a product Tuesday called Hiya Business Profiles, which allows users to do more from within the dialer itself. The company partnered with third parties like Yelp and Whitepages to ensure the results users see are relevant. The integration of the product with the Samsung Galaxy S8 is its first implementation.

“Phone calls remain the most effective interaction for businesses and consumers and yet, calling a business is a needlessly cumbersome process," Mayur Kamat, vice president for products at Hiya , told International Business Times. "With Hiya Business Profiles in place, Samsung Galaxy S8 users will never have to leave the dialer to call a business. Simply put, the Samsung phone app is getting smarter.”

The feature is also available on the Samsung Galaxy S8+. Hiya Business Profiles is launching in 27 countries across the Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe.