Google Contacts on Wear OS is trying out a smart photos-first redesign

A good user interface is important any time we’re using software, but it’s arguably most important on those screens that are the trickiest to interact with — and you probably won’t find many people disagreeing that smartwatches belong at the top of that list. When devs are trying to make apps as usable as possible on such tiny displays, every decisions matters. Today we’re checking out some big progress in just that department for Google Contacts on Wear OS.

Looking through version 1.106.0.914792851-release-wear of the Contacts app, we’ve spotted some significant, photo-first changes to how your watch shows your contacts.

On the left there, you can see the old UI for displaying your favorite contacts, with names taking up the majority of the watch’s screen. But this new favorites layout on the right not only fits more contacts on the screen at once, but does so with nice, big, easy-to-identify photos.

The same design philosophy behind that change also seems to be impacting the contact detail screen. Instead of the text-heavy old look you see on the left, Contacts is embracing a new layout that prioritizes photos and actionable buttons. If that look feels familiar to you, there’s probably good reason — Google’s setting it up to match the layout Contacts uses for its Wear OS tile:

While some of you may prefer the way the old UI emphasized the contact’s actual phone number on the details screen, we’d argue that this overall represents a big step forward in terms of usability.