AssembleDebug / Android Authority
TL;DR • Google’s “Calling Cards” feature is now widely rolling out in v188 of the Phone app, allowing Android users to personalize incoming/outgoing call screens with full-screen photos and styling options.
Calling Cards differs from Apple’s Contact Posters in that it gives you full control over how each contact appears on your device — you set one card per contact manually.
Alongside Calling Cards, the updated app introduces major UI changes, including a new Home page and a redesigned calling interface.
Google looked at what Apple is doing with iOS’ Contact Posters and figured Android users also need a similar feature. Enter Calling Cards from the Google Contacts app, a personalized calling screen that uses full-screen images to bring life to your contacts. We spotted Calling Cards first in June, and the beta rollout for the feature began two weeks ago. Now, Calling Cards are widely rolling out to users in the stable branch of the Phone app so that everyone can enjoy this new experience.
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Google says Phone app users worldwide will now see the new Calling Card feature when they update the app to v188 or later. The experience is rolling out in phases, so if you don’t have it yet, you just have to be a bit patient, and you will eventually receive it on your phone.
With Calling Cards, users can set a full-screen photo for their contacts that will appear on their phone for all incoming and outgoing calls. There’s plenty of room for personalization here, as you can stylize the name with different fonts, sizes, and colors. You can also choose custom backgrounds, with options available from the Google Photo Picker, Camera, or Phone Album.
Google notes that users can customize their personal Calling Card through the Dialer or Contacts settings. Further, they can add unique Calling Cards for all their contact entries, including friends and family.
On the face of it, Calling Cards does look like a straight rip-off of iOS’ Contact Posters, but there’s one big difference. iOS lets you set your own Contact Poster and customize what your contact page will look like on others’ phones when you call them. On the other hand, Calling Cards on Android are what you can set for all the contacts in your phone book, and how they would appear on your device during calls. You have to set up Calling Cards for each of your contacts individually, and you cannot set up your own Calling Card.
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