A year ago, Google's designers decided users didn't need quick access to their Contacts from the Phone app. They buried the tab inside a hamburger menu during the Material 3 Expressive redesign. Users noticed. Google noticed. Now the company is reversing course.
The latest beta of the Phone by Google app (version 240+) shows Contacts returning to the bottom navigation bar, positioned between Home and Keypad. It's a quiet admission that some design decisions don't survive contact with real users.
The Timeline of a Controversial Redesign
The August 2025 update simplified the app's navigation to three core areas: Home, Keypad, and Voicemail. Contacts got shuffled into the navigation drawer, with a secondary access point tucked into the Favorites carousel at the top of the main feed.
The rationale might have seemed reasonable internally—reduce visual clutter, focus on primary functions, keep the interface clean. But Contacts ranked high on the list of most-used features for many users. Dialing a saved number or pulling up a contact quickly requires fast access. A hamburger menu buried behind a tap doesn't provide that.
Users pushed back immediately. The decision to remove Contacts from the bottom bar puzzled many. One common complaint centered on the hamburger menu becoming nearly useless after Contacts migrated elsewhere—leaving Settings, call history, and help links orphaned in a menu people no longer needed to open.
What the Beta Shows
In the upcoming version, Contacts reappears as a dedicated tab in the navigation bar. The sidebar shortcut disappears entirely, consolidating how users reach their saved contacts.
According to 9to5google.com, the new Contacts tab is slowly rolling out in the Phone by Google beta and is not yet widely available for testers. Android Authority reported that they managed to enable the new UI through some tinkering with version 240.0.986973448, noting the new placement looks good and functions as expected.
The Voicemail tab already sits in the navigation bar for users in countries where that feature is supported. Adding Contacts brings the bottom bar back to the four-tap setup users had before the Material 3 overhaul—Home, Contacts, Keypad, and Voicemail.
Why This Small Change Matters
App redesigns frequently sacrifice function for aesthetics. When the Phone app lost its Contacts tab, it gained a cleaner visual profile but lost usability. Users who relied on quick contact access had to navigate more screens for a task that should take one tap.
This reversal signals something important about how Google approaches design decisions. The company often pushes aggressive redesigns across its product line, betting that users will adapt. Sometimes that bet pays off. Sometimes, like here, the user behavior data wins.
Material Design 3 introduced Expressive visual language meant to unify Google's apps under a cohesive look. But different apps serve different purposes. A dialer app that handles ten calls a day has different usability needs than a weather app opened twice weekly. Applying blanket design principles without accounting for how users actually interact with a specific app creates friction.
The Phone app case shows Google can course-correct when changes don't stick. That's worth noting because not every unpopular redesign gets reversed.
What to Watch Next
The Contacts tab should reach stable users in the coming weeks or months. Beyond this specific change, the episode hints at broader questions about how much Material Design 3 principles will flex when user feedback contradicts design dogma.
Say you manage a team that relies on the Phone app for client calls. Once the update lands, your daily workflow smooths out—you tap Contacts instead of opening the menu, finding the contact, and confirming the call. That saves ten seconds per call. Over twenty calls, that's roughly three minutes reclaimed daily. Small wins compound.
For most users, the change requires no action. The update arrives automatically through the Play Store when it reaches your device. Beta testers can explore the new layout now if they want an early look.
Bottom Line
Google's decision to restore the Contacts tab reflects basic usability principles trumping design ideology. Core features should stay accessible where users expect to find them. The hamburger menu experiment didn't survive real-world testing, and Google did the sensible thing by reversing it.
Users won this round. The question is whether future redesigns will learn from this episode or repeat the same pattern.
Key takeaways
- Google is restoring the Contacts tab to the Phone app's bottom navigation bar after removing it during last year's Material 3 overhaul.
- The change is rolling out through the beta channel before reaching stable users.
- The decision reflects user feedback overriding design dogma.
- Quick access to contacts matters more than aesthetic minimalism in a frequently-used dialer app.
- The update will arrive automatically—no manual action required.
Frequently asked questions
When will the Contacts tab return to the stable Phone app?
Google hasn't announced a specific date, but the feature is currently in beta testing and should reach stable channels in the coming weeks to months.
How do I access Contacts in the current version of the Phone app?
Currently, you can reach Contacts through the navigation drawer or via the Favorites carousel on the home screen of the app.
Will the update remove any existing features from the Phone app?
Based on current reports, the navigation drawer shortcut for Contacts will be removed since access will be consolidated to the bottom tab bar only.
Do I need to update the app manually to get this change?
No. The update will arrive automatically through the Play Store when it reaches your device.
Which app versions are currently testing the new Contacts tab?
The new UI is appearing in version 240+ of the Phone by Google beta, specifically version 240.0.986973448 in some reports.
Inspired by reporting from: 9to5google.com, androidauthority.com