by efreak | 2025-12-12 11:31:14+00:00
On Android, I used to be able to easily send text messages and now my contact from the dialer. Swipe to call, swipe the other way to text, long press to get the selector that shows the contact info button. Extremely useful: I only need one button for both calls and texts on my homescreen. I have a new number for my dentist after they moved, long tap them from recent calls and add the new number.

Now? All gone. - You can make a call from the text app, but only after you open the conversation, and it's a tiny button in the corner next to the menu. You haven't texted them? Sorry. - You can send a text from the dialer: switch to recent calls view, tap a recent call (the name, not the icon) and you can text that person. You haven't called them recently? Sorry. - Edit a contact from the dialer? Tap a recent call (the icon, not the name) to see their info, then click edit contact. Haven't called them recently? Sorry. - Want to call someone from your starred/favorite contacts? Tap the favorites section to expand it, you get 5 contacts on screen at a time with tiny hard-to-read names - Want to call a frequent contact that doesn't appear in the recent list because of a bunch of incoming calls? Tap the search button, if you're lucky you'll get a nice big target to tap, but more likely they won't show up (this is suggested contacts, not recent or favorite contacts) or they'll be underneath the keyboard. - the view contacts button opens your contacts manager that also doesn't have a view for favorite contacts. - The contacts app can initiate calls and text messages, but the only sort method it has is alphabetical, and it shows every contact you have, including those without phone numbers (you can filter them by tags/groups/account by opening the menu, but not by frequency or information). You also have to open the contact to see the buttons (which include video call; I have no idea what this does, as I have no video calling apps installed) - start a new conversation in messages, there's a prominently placed Gemini button at the top, despite Gemini being disabled in settings.

I would switch to the Samsung dialer and messenger app, but my phone is now a Motorola. Oops. Favorite contacts screen was removed from the dialer a while back for some unknown reason, but the useless voicemail screen remains (this screen doesn't work with either T-Mobile or with Google Voice)

Bonus: I sent pictures from Google voice weekly for the past few years, recently they never get received. (These are jpg screenshots of my work schedule, not giant photos; Google voice is convenient for viewing them myself on my desktop, phone, tablet. And Google voice still can't deal with webp or heic despite such images showing up in the image picker; in these cases the message can't even be sent)

Typing? I'm lucky. I have a nice big tablet, I only use my phone calls for text messages and calls, and for texting, swipe input has far less issues than tapping on the keyboard. Almost everything else goes through my 10" tablet. But yes, autocorrect on Android was also better when it was pure word lists without ML; sure, it was annoying to have to build a user dictionary, but you still have to do that anyways or else rarely used words will eventually get forgotten and names of contacts will eventually never be suggested if your swipe is the least bit off.