Android’s Calling Cards have been around for a few months now. The idea is to give users a more visually appealing incoming call screen than the relatively bland experience that existed before. While the use of Calling Cards isn’t nearly as widespread among Android users as Google would like, the company is now taking steps to bring this feature to its smartwatches.
Looking into version 210.0.870571680 (beta) of the Phone by Google app, Android Authority discovered a couple of lines referencing the upcoming feature inclusion for Wear OS smartwatches.
CALLING_CARD_METADATA_TO_WEAR_SENT
CALLING_CARD_SYNC_TO_WEAR
You don’t need to be an expert to determine what these lines mean. However, we don’t yet know what Calling Cards will look like on the smaller screen. Still, this is a sign that Google intends to bring Calling Cards to Wear OS, and we’ll hope for future leaks to offer a good look at its functioning.
There may be some limitations in place
Based on the code mentioned above, the card would sync directly from an Android phone to a Wear OS smartwatch. Users will presumably see a full-screen view of the card set for a particular contact, thereby giving incoming calls a nice visual overhaul. While not confirmed, Google may offer a toggle to disable this sync functionality.
As per code seen by Android Authority, this upcoming feature might only sync the Calling Card’s image to Wear OS, meaning the font style and color for the card could differ from what you’ve set on the phone. This is potentially designed to avoid visibility issues on the smaller screen. We still don’t fully know what a Calling Card will look like on Wear OS smartwatches, so we’ll reserve judgment until we’ve seen it in action.
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The feature has been available since August, what are you waiting for?
Wear OS smartwatches currently show a profile picture for incoming calls, provided you’ve set one for a contact. But if you’ve only got a Calling Card for them, the smartwatch will only display the contact’s initials. So this upcoming update would be a welcome upgrade for smartwatch owners in that regard.
As of right now, Calling Cards on Android only lets you create cards for your contacts. Google is working on a My Calling Card feature that lets users set their own cards, though it hasn’t rolled out widely despite being in the works for several months now. This makes it quite limited compared to Contact Posters on the iPhone, which has been around for a few years now.