Android call quality is progressing. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
The first beta for the Android 13 quarterly release includes a new “clear calling” feature that “reduces background noises during calls.” It was first spotted by Mishaal Rahman on Twitter who also tweeted directions to enable it for yourself without root, if you’re feeling bold.
The images shared by Rahman note that Clear Calling works “on most mobile networks,” is “not available for Wi-Fi calling,” and “content from your call is not sent to Google.”
Manually enabled “Clear Calling” settings. Don’t want to bother testing it, but here’s a first look! pic.twitter.com/JUYPxlXiSN
— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) September 8, 2022
Google has been flexing its noise-canceling muscles (and custom six-core audio chips) for awhile. First, and most impressively, by using AI to suppress background noises like the crackling of snack bags, keyboard clicks, and dogs barking in Google Meet. More recently with the $199 Pixel Buds Pro — the company’s first earbuds with active noise cancellation.
My colleague Chris Welch, who knows more about noise-cancelation tech (and unannounced Sonos speakers) than anyone I know, called the ANC on the Pixel Buds Pro, “more than competent — even if it won’t be bumping Sony or Bose from the top of the mountain.” Not bad for a first effort, now let’s see how Google does with regular old phone calls.
Do you even make phone calls anymore?