- A new tool lets you surprise your chat partner in the Phone by Google app
- READ MORE: iPhone users find hidden emoji hack – here’s how to try it
If you’ve ever wanted to break the ice during a phone conversation, Google has the perfect tool for you.
The tech giant is introducing a new “Audio Emoji” to its Phone by Google app that might catch your chat partner off guard.
As 9to5google reports, tapping the emoji sends a five-second animation accompanied by a cheeky sound effect during a conversation.
Users can choose from a total of six emojis, including clapping hands, a sad trombone (“whoah whoah!”), and a fart sound, denoted by the poop emoji.
Here’s how to try out Audio Emoji, which seems to be a hit with users.
People took to social media to discuss the feature, with one Reddit user saying: “This is going to be so annoying, I love it!”
Another posted: “Did anyone ask for this? No. Will I still use it? Yes haha.’
Someone else posted: “Imagine you’re calling your friend after you’ve been fired and telling them about the stress you’re going through, and suddenly your friend starts playing weird audio emoticons.”
Another Reddit user called the Audio Emoji a “great idea” as it could be used to fend off scammers on the other end of the line
Another fan said that Google is effectively ‘bringing back MSN Winks’ – the animations that would have filled most of your computer screen in MSN Messenger about 20 years ago.’
However, someone else on X (Twitter) seemed less impressed, saying that Google should instead “focus on making things better.”
According to the tech giant, the tool lets you “express emotions and moods with sounds like clapping, laughter, sad trombone and more with touchable emoticons while in a conversation.”
To enable the feature, you must first ensure that the Phone by Google app is installed on your Android device.
However, to use Phone by Google, you must agree to set it as your default phone app – which can replace any app you’re already using.
After you initiate a call, you should see a small pop-up button above the menu with the words “Audio Emoji”.
Tapping the button should bring up the six emoticon options for you to tap and annoy or amuse your chat partner.
The “Clap” emoji shows five pairs of hands clapping to the sound of applause, while the “Laugh” emoji has a corny canned laugh with an animation of inflatable tube puppets.
There’s also shouting and cheering with balloons and confetti (“Party”), a drum kit performing the classic sequence that follows a joke (“Sting”) and the sad sound of a trombone (“Crying”).
Tapping the “Poop” emoji shows an ice cream cone containing a suspicious brown blob falling to the ground, accompanied by a short farting noise.
According to 9to5google, the selected sound effect is heard on both ends of the phone call – although you can have a lot of fun unleashing a sound effect and pretending you didn’t hear anything.
There’s also a setting to disable Audio Emoji completely, though it’s unclear if you’ll still hear the sound effects if your chat partner has the feature turned on.
To turn off, go to the menu indicated by the three dots, followed by Settings and then Audio Emoji.
If you can’t see Audio Emoji in the app yet, it should be rolling out to all users in the coming weeks, according to 9to5google.
Google tends to have the Phone by Google app pre-installed on its own Pixel smartphones, while other Android devices (such as Samsung) will have another app pre-installed by default.
Google’s latest Pixel phone is expected to launch in October, although the tech giant may give a brief preview at its i/o event on May 14.
Last year it launched the Pixel 8 for £699 and the Pixel 8 Pro for £99, as well as its Pixel Fold at an impressive £1,749.
