Google Phone update makes calls more expressive with new Audio Emoji
What you need to know
Google is starting to roll out "Audio Emojis" for phone app users.
After enabling it, users can send an Audio Emoji to the person they're on a call with. The emoji will play a sound alongside a fun animation on the screen.
It seems that the feature is appearing first in the beta app for testers, likely meaning those using the stable version will see it soon.
Google is rolling out a useful feature for its Phone app that lets users express their quirky creativity in a new way.
As spotted by Google News on Telegram, the company is starting to roll out "Audio Emojis" in the Phone app. Users will be able to toggle the feature in the app's settings. From there, Google describes the feature as one that can help users "express emotions and moods with sounds like applause, laughter, sad, trombone, and more."
When enabled, users can call their friends and family and start experimenting with the new sounds. On the Phone app's call screen, there will be an option to expand the Audio Emoji's row of faces above the default toolbar.
Six emojis will be present, and tapping one will play its appropriate sound and a quick animation on the screen behind the UI.
Google is rolling out Audio Emojis for the Phone app today (May 2). However, it seems that the feature is arriving first in the app's beta version. According to DroidLife, Audio Emojis have been spotted on a Pixel 8 Pro running version 128.0.6 of the beta Phone app.
So, it seems users on a wider scale will have to wait a little while longer before it arrives on the stable version. It should become available through a Play Store update.
The Phone app's latest update was spotted a couple of times before, going from the "sound reactions" moniker to "Audiomoji" before today. The feature's most recent appearance in the app's code showed evidence of the six reactions Google is beginning to roll out for beta testers.
Meanwhile, it was spotted that Google could be working on a way to let phone users easily transfer their calls to Meet. A few users spotted the option to initiate a video call, indicating Google's testing of the feature. When initiating, the phone call will continue while the video call "rings" in the background until the other user accepts.
If that user isn't on Meet, Google seems to create an invite for you to send them.
