Google is rolling out Expressive Calling in the Phone by Google beta, letting callers mark conversations as urgent and bypass Do Not Disturb. See what's new.
© E. Vartanyan
Google has begun a phased rollout of Expressive Calling in the beta version of the Phone by Google app, a practical tweak that lets callers flag conversations as urgent and override Do Not Disturb. The company announced the feature earlier this month, and it is now reaching a portion of testers.
The option appears under Settings — General — Expressive Calling. The main switch, which controls visual and haptic feedback during calls, is on by default. Separately, users can decide whether urgent calls are allowed to bypass an active Do Not Disturb mode. Judging by the current implementation, both participants need to be on the Phone by Google beta build 203 for Expressive Calling to work.
When those conditions are met, a prompt shows up during a call offering to mark it as urgent. Once confirmed, the recipient sees a notice that the call is urgent alongside an animated siren icon, and the call is accompanied by more pronounced visual effects. If the call is missed, the urgent label is preserved in call history, emphasizing its priority status.
In parallel, Google has shipped the stable Phone by Google 202 release. However, several interface tweaks — including a shorter bottom bar and a Keep portrait mode setting — remain exclusive to the beta for now. They are expected to be enabled for a broader audience later via a server-side update, a sign that Google prefers to test these touches before switching them on widely.