Android O Feature Highlight: Third party VoIP Apps Can Now Integrate with System UI

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Published 17 Apr 2017

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Android O

With mobile data getting cheaper across the world with every passing month and Wi-Fi access now becoming ubiquitous, VoIP calls and apps have surged in popularity. While plenty of VoIP apps are available for Android, they have been unable to integrate properly with System UI which leads to not working properly or behaving absurdly in certain scenarios.

To fix this problem once and for all, Google is introducing a new ConnectionService API in Android O. A part of the Telecom framework, this API will allow third party apps to integrate with the System UI and work in harmony alongside other audio apps.

This will ensure that third-party VoIP and telephony apps work just like the native dialer app does. In addition, the API will also allow these apps to display their call information on other devices and UIs such as car head units and be controlled directly from them.

Google has introduced a number of new APIs in Android O that developers can take advantage of to create better apps that offer superior user experience. The new ConnectionService API is among one of them as it will allow VoIP apps to integrate neatly with the OS.

Read: Android O Features: All the New and Hidden Features We’ve Found So Far