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We all receive calls daily. It doesn’t have to be from a real person. It could be a bot advertising a service or calls from people you don’t want to take. Either way, we ignore such calls and turn on DND. Other times, we pick the calls for fear of missing out on important information, and there are times we do miss out on urgent details because of this. Google is working to change how you take your calls.
According to recent code found in the Phone app , it seems Android users might be able to tag calls as “urgent” very soon. It might even allow calls to bypass someone’s Do Not Disturb mode. This new feature is called Expressive Calling. It allows certain calls to get your attention when normal calls won’t.
Expressive Calling lets you see the reason for a call. The call reasons include options like, “It’s urgent!,” “News to share,” or “Quick question.” You get to see the call reasons before the phone starts ringing. This way you can know whether or not it’s a call you should take.
The aim of the Expressive Calling feature is to bring urgent calls to your attention. Following that, calls tagged as urgent could bypass Do Not Disturb. This only works if you have the person’s contact saved. It still silences calls from unknown callers. This feature relies on RCS and SMS permissions. Both the caller and recipient of the call may need to turn on compatible apps or features. Without this, the call reason might not show at all.
If you do miss an urgent call, your Android will display a notification to alert you. It could be a message like “Missed an Urgent Call,” so you can return the call you missed. When the feature launches, it might only be supported on the Google Phone app and not third-party dialers.
Then again, we can only wait till the Android release comes. It won’t be surprising if this feature doesn’t make it to Android devices. Google might change or cancel it completely like it did to previous unreleased features. The company hasn’t announced a launch timeline, nor do early versions of Expressive Calling appear to be live for now. If it does make it to launch, Pixel phones might get it first before rolling out to other Android devices.
Author:Obiajulum Ndubuisi
Obiajulum is a tech enthusiast passionate about writing. When she isn’t writing about gadgets, she will probably be playing badminton, watching a movie, or surfing the internet.
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Connecting to a mobile hotspot on Android is a fairly simple process. The default settings, though, limit the WiFi speed you can use. The default speed for Android hotspot uses the 2.4 and 5 GHz frequencies. It leaves out the 6 GHz frequency that the newer Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 support. The reason is that most devices can’t connect to 6 GHz Wi-Fi networks. There is also the restriction of such frequency in some regions, like the US. Some regulations previously prohibited smartphones from creating 6 GHz Wi-Fi hotspots.
That isn’t the case anymore. Many devices now use 6 GHz Wi-Fi. Even regulations that once restricted the usage have been altered to allow the use of this frequency for mobile hotspots in the US. With these changes, Google recently launched an update to Pixel phones that unlocked the 6 GHz frequency for Wi-Fi hotspots. Pixel owners can now adjust their WiFi speed to a 6 GHz Wi-Fi hotspot. They can do this by going to Settings > Network & internet > Hotspot & tethering > Wi-Fi hotspot > Speed & compatibility and choosing the “6 GHz” option under “Preferred frequency.”
The 6 GHz band delivers faster speeds than the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands because of its wider channels, but it still has its limitations. It suffers from a shorter range because the higher-frequency waves are more easily blocked by objects. Another is the lack of 6 GHz frequency WiFi support for many devices, so they can’t even connect to the hotspot. Pixel users using the 6 GHz option will have to accept these limitations.
Google has found a way around these drawbacks by introducing a new Wi-Fi hotspot option that combines the 2.4 GHz band’s broad compatibility with the 6 GHz band’s superior throughput. As seen in the latest Android Canary release, the company has added a “2.4 and 6 GHz” option to the ‘Speed & compatibility’ settings page. With this dual-band mode, users get the benefits of both options — fast speeds of the 6 GHz option and compatibility with legacy devices through the 2.4 GHz band.
We expect to see the option live in the beta release soon, since it’s already in the latest Canary build . It might roll out in the next beta update for the Android 16 QPR3 release.
Author:Obiajulum Ndubuisi
Obiajulum is a tech enthusiast passionate about writing. When she isn’t writing about gadgets, she will probably be playing badminton, watching a movie, or surfing the internet.
