GoKawiilGoogle is adding new features to Android before releasing its next major update, Android 17, later this year. Alongside a more sophisticated version of scam call detection, Android users will also reap the benefits of updates to Google Photos and Circle to Search the company teased earlier this year, and a new AI-powered recap feature in Google Play Books.
Android has had the ability to warn you if you're on a scam call since 2024, but Google's new fake call detection feature takes the idea even further. As part of an update to Google's Phone app, Android users will now be warned to end a call if a caller is impersonating someone on their contact list. "When a contact calls you and you're both using Phone by Google, their device sends a silent confirmation signal in real time to your device to verify the call is legitimate and truly coming from the contact's device," Google writes in a blog explaining the new feature. "Because this digital handshake uses end-to-end encrypted Rich Communication Services (RCS) technology, it is completely private."
If your Phone app doesn't receive the handshake, it knows to show you a warning so you can immediately end your call. Google says fake call detection is available on devices with Android 12 and up that use its phone app. The company also plans to make its Personal Safety app available to users under the age of 13, so they can display their medical and emergency contact information on their lock screen and quickly enable safety features like car crash detection.
Outside of the realm of improving safety on Android, two key apps are getting new AI-powered skills. Google is rolling out its "wardrobe" feature to Google Photos, giving the app the ability to catalog the clothes you've worn in photos and help you virtually try them on. Google Play Books, meanwhile, can now use AI to provide contextual information about whatever you highlight and recap what you're currently reading. Google Photos wardrobe is available on select devices in the US, India and Brazil running Android 10 and up. Google Play Books' new AI insights are rolling out now to select titles in English.
Google is also updating existing tools like Circle to Search and Quick Share. Like the company demoed on Samsung phones in February, Circle to Search can now identify and search for multiple items in an image instead of just one. Google's workaround to make its file sharing feature Quick Share work with Apple's AirDrop is now also available on more Android devices. And if you don't find those updates satisfying, Emoji Kitchen can smash together new emoji in Gboard, Google's software keyboard.