New Google Phone app teardown reveals RCS calling features

As usual, Google has updated the Google Phone app without releasing an official changelog, so it’s up to those doing APK teardowns to discover all the juicy bits and what’s new. So far, Android Police has discovered two minor changes to the app and a few hints about what could be coming in the future.

First up, voicemails can now be shared directly inside the app. According to the report, this feature will only work in cases where the Phone app has integration with voicemail, which is how Project Fi works. It’s unclear whether this will work directly with Google Voice or not.

Secondly, a small fix for the color of the new contact quick shortcut icon brings it in line with the new color of the Phone icon.

The most interesting part of this update is that AP’s teardown has revealed that Google could be working on adding RCS calling features to the app. Rich Communication Services is what we’ll be using in the future to replace SMS and MMS with more modern standards, but carriers are working on RCS video calling systems.

The teardown reveals that Google seems to be working on a feature that allows users to send an image and initiate a call with another person, most likely with the sent image serving as the cover image for the voice call.