Google Phone Brings Back the Contacts Tab After Last Year's Redesign

The Google Phone Contacts tab is coming back to the main navigation after Google moved Contacts into the sidebar during last year's Material 3 Expressive redesign. The new layout has appeared for some users on the latest beta, putting Contacts between Home and Keypad instead of making users open the navigation drawer.

Android Authority first reported on September 25 that Google was working on the reversal after finding the new navigation in a Phone by Google beta build. On September 29, the publication confirmed that the tab could be surfaced in beta version 240.0.98 on a Pixel 9. 9to5Google reported the broader rollout on October 1, noting that the change is still limited and gradual.

Google Phone Contacts Tab Returns to the Bottom Bar

The returning Contacts tab appears between Home and Keypad. In markets and devices where Voicemail is supported as a bottom-navigation destination, the existing Voicemail tab can also remain part of the navigation.

Google's current Phone app help still directs users to Contacts through the top-left menu, which shows that the beta navigation has not replaced the stable interface everywhere. The new tab therefore looks like a beta rollout rather than a completed redesign.

The change also removes the Contacts shortcut from the navigation drawer in the new layout. Other ways of reaching contacts can remain available, including contact access from the Home screen and Favorites.

Why Google Moved Contacts in the First Place

The original change arrived with the Phone by Google Material 3 Expressive redesign in 2025. Google simplified the main navigation around Home, Keypad, and, where supported, Voicemail. Favorites also moved into a horizontal area at the top of the Home tab instead of getting a separate destination.

That redesign made Contacts less prominent. On the stable app, users can still open Contacts from the menu, while a Contacts control near the search area can filter recent calls involving saved contacts. That filter is different from opening the full contacts list.

Google's own Phone app guidance continues to show Contacts inside the menu, so the current public documentation has not yet been updated to describe the returning bottom tab. The company's official beta guidance also warns that experimental Phone app features may be unstable and can change before a public release.

The New Navigation Is a Small but Clear Reversal

The important part of this update is not a new Phone feature. It is a navigation decision being changed after a year. Google originally reduced the number of primary destinations, then began testing Contacts as a first-level destination again.

That makes the change useful context for Google's broader app redesigns. The company continues to adjust how frequently used actions are surfaced across its products, from Google's new voice search design to the evolving navigation and feature layout in Google Maps.

The reversal also fits a wider pattern in Google's Android apps where navigation is being tuned around the tasks people use most. Google Messages' recent swipe gestures are another example of small interface changes aimed at reducing the number of steps for common actions.

What the Contacts Tab Looks Like in Beta

The Phone app is not the only Google app changing how its main controls are presented. Google Translate's background mode on Android and recent changes to other Android experiences show how Google continues to move frequently used functions into more direct access points.

Google Has Not Confirmed a Stable Release Date

For now, the Contacts tab should be treated as a beta feature. Android Authority found it in version 240.0.98 on a Pixel 9, while 9to5Google reported the change in Phone by Google beta version 240+. The feature did not appear on every test device running the beta, which points to a staged rollout rather than a universal switch.

Google's official Phone app beta testing guide says beta users can receive experimental features before public release and warns that beta versions may be unstable. That makes the current Contacts tab useful evidence of Google's direction, but not a guarantee that every Android phone will receive the same layout immediately.

The change is also separate from broader Android system updates. Readers following Google's Android platform changes can see how Android 17 handles switching from iPhone, while Google's app-level changes continue independently through Play Store updates and server-side rollouts.

Google's App Navigation Keeps Evolving

Google has not explained why it is returning Contacts to the bottom bar. The available evidence establishes the navigation change, but not the company's reason for reversing the 2025 decision. Any claim that the move was caused by user complaints would go beyond what Google has confirmed.

The change sits alongside other Google app experiments that put frequently used actions closer to the main interface. Waze's recent navigation changes show how Google-owned apps can take different approaches to surfacing information and controls, while Google Health's recent account changes show a separate example of Google adjusting an app experience as its services evolve.

The change also does not signal a redesign of Android's Contacts app itself. It is specifically about how Phone by Google exposes saved contacts. Other Google services continue to add their own direct actions, including Google Search's connected Calendar controls and Google Maps features that combine search with actions, including Gemini-powered Maps experiments.

For users who rely on the Phone app as their main place to find and call saved contacts, the beta layout restores a one-tap destination that disappeared from the primary navigation last year. For everyone else, the stable interface remains the same until Google expands the test.

The latest change leaves the Phone by Google app in a familiar middle ground: Google is testing a more direct Contacts entry again, but the feature remains part of a gradual beta rollout with no confirmed stable-release date.