{"id":263172,"date":"2021-05-31T16:00:39","date_gmt":"2021-05-31T13:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/forget-the-camera-the-real-google-pixel-superpower-is-phone-calls-review-geek\/"},"modified":"2021-05-31T16:00:39","modified_gmt":"2021-05-31T13:00:39","slug":"forget-the-camera-the-real-google-pixel-superpower-is-phone-calls-review-geek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/forget-the-camera-the-real-google-pixel-superpower-is-phone-calls-review-geek\/","title":{"rendered":"#Forget the Camera, the Real Google Pixel Superpower Is Phone Calls \u2013 Review Geek"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4126d0a6fc6\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4126d0a6fc6\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/forget-the-camera-the-real-google-pixel-superpower-is-phone-calls-review-geek\/#Call_Screen_Is_My_Jammy-Whammy-Kabammy\" >Call Screen Is My Jammy-Whammy-Kabammy<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/forget-the-camera-the-real-google-pixel-superpower-is-phone-calls-review-geek\/#%E2%80%9CHold_for_Me%E2%80%9D_Is_the_Greatest_Dialer_Feature_Since_Dialer_Features_Existed\" >\u201cHold for Me\u201d Is the Greatest Dialer Feature Since Dialer Features Existed<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/forget-the-camera-the-real-google-pixel-superpower-is-phone-calls-review-geek\/#Visual_Voicemail_Baked-In_Makes_Life_So_Much_Easier\" >Visual Voicemail Baked-In Makes Life So Much Easier<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/forget-the-camera-the-real-google-pixel-superpower-is-phone-calls-review-geek\/#I_Heart_Pixel\" >I Heart Pixel<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#Forget the Camera, the Real Google Pixel Superpower Is Phone Calls \u2013 Review Geek&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-content-area\">\n<figure style=\"width: 1920px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage wp-image-85084 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/p\/uploads\/2021\/05\/b86ea718.jpg?width=1200\" alt=\"The dialer open on a Pixel 5, dark background with gridlines\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" data-credittext=\"Cameron Summerson\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\">Cameron Summerson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>While talking on the phone might not be as cool as it once was, Google has done a lot to make the call experience less awful on Pixel devices. Experimental features like Call Screening and Assistant\u2019s Hold for Me have fundamentally changed the way I use my phone over the last year or so. I don\u2019t want to live without them now.<\/p>\n<p>I have a young son with special needs, so as a result, I have to deal with a lot of phone calls. Insurance issues, calls with doctors, ordering medicines and other refills \u2026 you get the idea. The amount of time I\u2019ve spent on the phone\u2014and on hold\u2014over the last six years simply cannot be overstated. When he was first diagnosed (with kidney failure\u2014you can read <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/394681\/how-i-used-technology-to-get-in-the-best-shape-of-my-life-and-save-my-son\/\">our full story here<\/a>) I would sometimes spend more than four hours <i>a day <\/i>on the phone with insurance companies.<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, those days are mostly gone. <i>Mostly. <\/i>And when I have to deal with this stuff, the Pixel 5 has my back.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Call_Screen_Is_My_Jammy-Whammy-Kabammy\"><\/span>Call Screen Is My Jammy-Whammy-Kabammy<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 1920px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-85069 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/p\/uploads\/2021\/05\/10621278.jpg\" alt=\"A picture of the Call Screen dialog on Pixel 5\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\">Cameron Summerson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>While most people get the luxury of not answering calls from numbers they don\u2019t recognize, I never know when it\u2019s going to be a doctor\/nurse, an insurance company, or another important call. So, I always have to answer.<\/p>\n<p>Or at least I used to. Now, thanks to Pixel\u2019s Call Screen feature, I can just let the Assistant do the dirty work of answering the call. If it\u2019s someone I actually need to speak with, I can take over. Oh, and the best part? Most of the time if it\u2019s a first-time caller or another unknown number, Call Screen just does its thing.<\/p>\n<p>So, for instance, if someone calls me for the first time, Call Screen kicks in automatically. Most of the time, it\u2019s a spam caller and they just hang up. I don\u2019t even get alerted till <i>after<\/i> they hang up when the phone wants to know if it was a spam call.<\/p>\n<p>But if it\u2019s someone I do need to talk with, they simply have to say why they\u2019re calling and stay on the line. The phone will transcribe what they say, then alert me someone is on the line. I can either hang up or pick up. It\u2019s brilliant.<\/p>\n<p>And most of the time, callers just seem to get it. The instances where the person calling me didn\u2019t understand that it was a screen and not voicemail have been few and far between. I admit this was a concern of mine when I first started using the feature, so I\u2019m h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>y that it hasn\u2019t been an issue.<\/p>\n<p>And while Call Screen keeps me from dealing with unwanted calls, there are still plenty of times I\u2019m the one who has to make a call. That\u2019s where my other favorite feature comes into play.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CHold_for_Me%E2%80%9D_Is_the_Greatest_Dialer_Feature_Since_Dialer_Features_Existed\"><\/span>\u201cHold for Me\u201d Is the Greatest Dialer Feature Since Dialer Features Existed<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 1920px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-85070 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/p\/uploads\/2021\/05\/d327039a.jpg\" alt=\"The Hold for Me setting screen on Pixel 5\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\">Cameron Summerson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A few weeks ago, I called the Walgreens I always deal with to refill a couple of my son\u2019s meds. Because he\u2019s a kid, a few of his meds have to be specially synthesized for someone his size, so they\u2019re done in Dallas, TX, then shipped to me. I\u2019ve been talking with the same pharmacist for literally years.<\/p>\n<p>But on this occasion, we hit a wall\u2014insurance rejected the claim. I carry multiple insurances on my son (three, to be exact) and they were all pointing at the others saying they needed to pay first. So no one was willing to pay and I had to figure out why. I spent about 6 hours on the phone that day because this was for a medication he absolutely cannot go without.<\/p>\n<p>As the Editor in Chief of the website you\u2019re reading right now, I\u2019m a pretty busy guy. I don\u2019t have time to waste sitting on hold listening with awful hold music and distracting prerecorded messages. Enter \u201cHold for Me:\u201d a new Google Assistant feature built into Pixel phones.<\/p>\n<p>Essentially, this allows you to tell the Assistant to take over holding for you. The dialer will go silent (yay, no hold music!) and transcribe any messages that come across. Then, when a real-life human being comes on the line, it quickly tells them that you\u2019re using a holding service provided by Google and switches the line over.<\/p>\n<p>Pair this with a good set of headphones, and I was able to stay productive during the long hold sessions. While Hold for Me is an experimental feature, I\u2019ve yet to have any issues with it\u2014and I use it pretty often.<\/p>\n<p>If you often find yourself having to make calls and spend absurd amounts of time on hold, this is a feature you\u2019ll love. I know I do. I would go as far as saying it changed my life. And that\u2019s not hyperbole.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Visual_Voicemail_Baked-In_Makes_Life_So_Much_Easier\"><\/span>Visual Voicemail Baked-In Makes Life So Much Easier<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 1920px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-85071 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/p\/uploads\/2021\/05\/3c0bc1a8.jpg\" alt=\"the voicemail screen on Pixel 5\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">You can play voicemail directly from the dialer, too. <span class=\"imagecredit\">Cameron Summerson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>While Call Screening and Hold for Me are my favorite (and most used) Pixel features, I can\u2019t forget about my good buddy Visual Voicemail. This is exactly what you think it is: a way to access voicemail directly from the dialer. No more dialing \u201c1\u201d and entering a PIN just to hear that someone has been trying to reach you about your car\u2019s extended warranty.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m a Cricket user and have been using <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.mizmowireless.vvm\">Cricket\u2019s Visual Voicemail app<\/a> for years, but it\u2019s clunky and often slow. With Visual Voicemail baked right into my Pixel 5\u2019s dialer, I haven\u2019t had to touch that old app in months (maybe longer?).<\/p>\n<p>Now, when I do happen to miss a call, the caller can just leave a voicemail. I\u2019m able to read the transcript and listen to it im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>tely without ever having to leave the dialer. It\u2019s a small thing, I know, but it\u2019s these little quality-of-life details that truly make a difference. For me, at least.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"I_Heart_Pixel\"><\/span>I Heart Pixel<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-85087\" src=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/p\/uploads\/2021\/05\/3fa51950.jpg\" alt=\"The Sage Green Pixel 5 lying screen-down on a tree trunk\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Those are just a few of my favorite (and most used) Pixel dialer features, too. I love that you can search the dialer for nearby businesses and call with one tap (you can\u2019t do this on other phones). Or that you can have the phone announce the caller ID when someone calls. Or the option to put the phone into DND by just flipping it over. These are all great little features that add up to a pretty big difference over other phones.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve long been a Pixel fan for other various reasons\u2014excellent cameras, first-party software, quick updates, etc.\u2014but I don\u2019t think any of those have made such a meaningful impact on my life. I recognize that not everyone spends as much time on the phone as I do, so these might not be the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a> changers for you that they are for me. But if you do, then oh boy, they are.<\/p>\n<p>At this point, I can\u2019t imagine using any other phone as my main phone. I\u2019m forever thankful to Google for considering that some people still use their phone as, you know, a phone, and spending time focusing on making the dialer better.<\/p>\n<p>Because the time spent there will save me and many others countless hours of our own.\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script>\nsetTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n  fbq('init', '1137093656460433');\n  fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/85061\/forget-the-camera-the-real-google-pixel-superpower-is-phone-calls\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Forget the Camera, the Real Google Pixel Superpower Is Phone Calls \u2013 Review Geek&#8221; Cameron Summerson While talking on the phone might not be as cool as it once was, Google has done a lot to make the call experience less awful on Pixel devices. Experimental features like Call Screening and Assistant\u2019s Hold for Me&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":263173,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.reviewgeek.com\/p\/uploads\/2021\/05\/b86ea718.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-263172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}