Summary
- Exclusive Pixel widget, Pixel VIPs, in Google Contacts app allows quick access to 8 contacts’ details.
- Widget opens a sheet with contact info, current location, recent communications (texts, calls, WhatsApp).
- Release date unclear, potential debut in Android 16 QPR1 or on Pixel 10.
Google Contacts is getting an exclusive new widget on Pixel devices. Android Authority has obtained video of the setup flow for an upcoming widget called Pixel VIPs that provides quick access to details about up to eight of your contacts.
Android Authority says an anonymous source provided the publication with the video, which apparently comes from an internal test build of the Pixel Tips app. These builds are also referred to as “dogfood” builds, hence the pawprints in the screenshots you see below.
Pixel Tips screenshots from the video Android Authority published.
The new Pixel VIPs widget will be part of Google’s Contacts app, and as described in the setup flow, will allow Pixel users to display up to eight contacts in a home screen widget. Tapping any of these contacts will open a sheet that contains both information saved in that contact’s entry in the Contacts app — their birthday and any notes — as well as their current location, if they’ve enabled that functionality.
The sheet accessible through the Pixel VIPs widget also shows your recent communications with each of your selected contacts. This history includes texts and phone calls, as well as WhatsApp messages. It’s unclear whether other third-party messaging services will be supported.
Coming to Pixel phones… sometime
The video Android Authority obtained was extracted from an internal test build of the Pixel Tips app and wasn’t meant for public consumption, so it doesn’t tell us much about when Google plans to release this feature. The setup flow does look polished and production-ready, though, so it seems likely we’ll be hearing something official about Pixel VIPs sooner than later. It’s possible it could be released as part of Android 16 QPR1 later this year, or debut on the Pixel 10 series this summer — maybe both.