long story short
- Google is testing a new feature in the Phone app that will seamlessly switch from a regular phone call to a Google Meet video call with just one tap.
- The feature is currently in beta testing and is only available to a limited number of Pixel phone owners.
Google’s video conferencing platform, Google Meet, may be on its way to becoming a bigger part of our daily mobile communications. While it started out primarily as a business-focused tool, it’s also become a popular choice for one-on-one video calls. Now, Google appears to be testing a new feature that could boost its usage even further — a way to easily switch from a regular phone call to a video call with just a tap.
iPhone users have long enjoyed easy video calling through the Apple FaceTime feature built directly into the iPhone dialer. Android users can now get a similar experience with video calling integrated into the mobile app.
The new feature comes in the form of a simple “video calling” chip that has recently started showing up during regular calls for some Google Phone app users. Click the chip to start a Google Meet video call with the person you’re talking to and have their phone ring while the voice call remains active.
If the person you’re calling doesn’t have the Google Meet app installed, tapping the chip will bring you to a screen prompting you to invite them to video chat using Google Meet.
The new feature is currently in beta testing and is only available to a limited number of users on Pixel phones (our device was running 125.0.613053162-publicbeta-pixel2023). It’s not widely available yet, but the fact that it’s being tested suggests that Google may be planning to make it a permanent feature of the Google Mobile app. Hopefully we’ll see wider adoption on Android phones soon.
While the new feature offers a solid alternative to video calling through third-party apps like WhatsApp, it remains to be seen whether it will be enough to change users’ established habits.