In addition to updates to the Contacts appPhone by Google received a considerable redesign from Material 3 Expressive in Wear OS.
Previously, the Phone app home page in Wear OS was a list to access Favorites, Recents, Contacts, Phone Keypad, and Voicemail. It was very much from the early days of Wear OS design, if not Android Wear.
Old
Now, Phone by Google opens to a Recents feed and each card takes advantage of dynamic color. Two large buttons on the top let you access contacts and dialer.
The keyboard benefits from Material 3 Expressive wrappers and themes, and scrolling down lets you access *, #, and + as before.
This is a much needed modernization. We noticed this change today after upgrading to Wear OS 7, but it’s also present in Wear OS 6 with version 165 of the Phone by Google app.
New
Meanwhile, the Contacts app has also been updated and Google mentioned this specific change in the Wear OS 7 changelog for Pixel Watch.
Along with search is a new ability to add contacts on your wrist. When you tap the magnifying glass, Google now shows keyboard and voice search buttons.
The contact pages have been updated to “use even more Material3 elements in completely new layouts to display the list and contact card in a fresh new way.” The contact’s photo is displayed on the left with buttons to quickly call or message them.
There’s also a “completely new layout for favorite contacts in the contact list.” That grid is available if your device has a larger screen (45 vs. 41mm on the Pixel Watch).
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