It’s Google Contacts’ turn to get a Material You widget redesign

Thanks to some excellent detective work done by 9to5Google via their APK Insights report, the latest Google Contacts app has been decompiled, and with it, the latest candidate for a Material You widget redesign has been chosen. In fact, this redesign has been known about for a few months now, but today, we’re seeing more than just the large, useless individual contact card in Google’s new Material You styling that came with its promotional materials upon the launch of Android 12.

As pictured below, Kyle Bradshaw depicts a new and updated – and quite frankly, more mature – “Individual Contact” widget option for your Android device’s home screen. The largest one looks a lot like it’s taken inspiration from the YouTube Music vinyl record widget. Next, a slightly wider and shorter scaling reveals a phone and message icon for quickly reaching out and catching up with someone.

Lastly, the full-width home screen widget scaling also shows the contact’s name. Additionally, a new “Favorite Contacts” option lets you “create a shortcut for up to 7 of your top starred contacts”, and simply shows you your friends, family, and colleagues’ contact images. Tapping these will launch their individual entries in Google Contacts where you can perform more in-depth actions.

I’ve never considered Contacts to be a great CMS or at the very least, I’ve never seen it as detailed enough to do everything I need for Workspace and business relationships, but its simplicity truly is its strength. Anyone you ask will likely say that they prefer Google Contacts over competitors, at least for personal use. It’s bare bones, but effective, and gaining new tricks every day through thoughtful (yet slow) implementation.