Google Duo Is Getting a Floating 'New Call' Button With Redesigned UI

Google Duo will soon get a home screen redesign with a ‘New Call’ button. The new button is said to help make calls more easily. The ‘New Call’ button will also let users call their Assistant “Home” device. The new home screen user interface (UI) still retains the search bar at the top of the screen while the contacts are displayed in a new format along with the ‘New Call’ button. Google said the redesign would reach users in the coming few weeks.

The new feature within the redesigned UI for Google Duo was announced through a post on the Google Duo Help webpage. The post mentions that this is one of the highly requested additions to the video calling app from Google. The company says the new blue-coloured floating action button (FAB) for ‘New Call’ will let users start a new call on the app, create a group, see groups and contact lists, and call your “home” device.

The redesigned UI also removes a few functionalities that were available previously. Users will now be able to ‘Send Messages’ by clicking on the contact or group and subsequently clicking on the Message button. Users can ‘Create Groups’ by tapping on the ‘New Call’ FAB and then clicking on the Create group link. Google Duo users will also be able to ‘See Contacts and Existing Groups’ by either searching for them or via the ‘New Call’ FAB. To ‘Invite Contacts’, users will have to tap the ‘New Call’ FAB and search for the contact either via the search bar or through the contacts list.

Google Duo’s ‘New Call’ FAB is expected to roll out in a few weeks. The platform to first receive the update is not specified, however, it is expected to be rolled out to both Android and iOS users.

For the past year, Google has been focussing more on Google Meet and has even added various filters and effects that were earlier exclusive to Google Duo. The coming update is the first for Google Duo in almost a year, as the last update that added the ability to conduct Google Duo video calls on Android TV came in August last year.