Google is potentially preparing to introduce the highly anticipated Call Screening feature on Pixel phones in India. This functionality is designed to help users identify callers and understand the purpose of their calls before answering, thereby reducing the number of spam calls.
Currently, India lacks access to this feature, although the country witnesses hundreds of millions of spam calls daily. Pixel users in India have expressed a desire for Call Screening for years, and it seems their requests are finally gaining traction.
An APK teardown has revealed indications that the Call Screening feature is under development for the Indian market. Google first launched Call Screening in 2018, but it has yet to be included in the Pixel phones available in India.
During prior discussions, Mike Abary, Vice President of Devices & Services Business for APAC at Google, acknowledged this gap and mentioned that the company is committed to bringing this capability to India. He noted that the delays pertain more to policy issues than technical challenges.
Preliminary findings from a recent version of the Phone by Google app show internal files related to Call Screening that suggest localization efforts, such as audio files in Hindi. Unlike the automatic Call Screening available in the US, the Indian version appears to use a manual approach, requiring users to initiate the screening by pressing a “Screen call” button upon receiving a call.
It is important to note that these discoveries are early indicators, and Google may still be testing the feature while awaiting regulatory approvals for its launch in India. Given the nation’s linguistic diversity, with over 22 officially recognized languages, Google faces a considerable task ahead in delivering a fully functional and localized service.
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