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Alex Walker-Todd \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n
TL;DR<\/p>\n
Google\u2019s Phone app has historically forced a portrait orientation while making calls.
\nUsers have recently noticed that this no longer holds true, and some devices set to auto-rotate will turn even in calls.
\nWe\u2019re not seeing this behavior consistently across devices, and it\u2019s unclear if it\u2019s truly intended.<\/p>\n
The vast majority of your smartphone usage probably takes place in portrait mode, ideal for one-handed operation. When we\u2019re turning our phones for landscape viewing, that\u2019s usually tied to a very specific purpose, like watching a movie, gaming, or shooting with the camera. What about making a call, though? That\u2019s not normally something we associate with rotating our phones<\/a>, so we\u2019re finding it easy to understand why so many Android users are suddenly confused by landscape-orientation calls.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t want to miss the best from Android Authority?<\/p>\n We first caught wind of this thanks to a post in Reddit\u2019s Pixel sub from user whappenow<\/a>, who shared that the Phone app on their Pixel had recently started going into landscape mode. Unless you\u2019re making a call through earbuds, or rocking an insane handset like the LG Wing<\/a>, landscape isn\u2019t really a screen orientation that makes a ton of sense for phone calls.<\/p>\n Curious what was going on, we tried to replicate this behavior on a number of our devices, and sure enough: on some of them, Google Phone now appears to follow system auto-rotate settings and will run in landscape, even during a call. On others, you can browse your contacts in landscape, and even dial the number, but the app forces portrait view when a call is actually initiated.<\/p>\n Aamir Siddiqui \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n Hadlee Simons \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n If that seems unintuitive to you, you\u2019re not alone, and for the moment we\u2019re feeling a bit conflicted about just how intentional this change may be. At least, it feels like Google went out of its way before to keep the in-call interface locked to portrait, but if it really is changing its mind about that now, why aren\u2019t we seeing the new behavior more consistently?<\/p>\n It\u2019s possible that part of this may be controlled by a server-side account setting on Google\u2019s end, and it will eventually spread to affect everyone, but for the moment we haven\u2019t been able to nail down a clear set of requirements for activating it. On the flip side, maybe an unrelated Android change is causing the old portrait-only lock to fail, and this really is a glitch.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll be keeping a close eye on our phones in the days to come to try and see if this spreads to more of them, or maybe even stops happening altogether. Got any predictions? Share your take down in the comments.<\/p>\n![\"google](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/google-phone-landscape-2.jpg\"\/ "\\"google")
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