Google apps and services often feel like they fall into one of two camps. In one we've got things like Gmail, which get frequently updated with both new functionality and modern tweaks to the interface. And in the other we've got plenty of beloved services that seem to get basically no attention at all — pretty much the case with Google Voice. We're still waiting for a proper Material You refresh, but in the meantime Voice is picking up a few new shortcuts you can access right from your phone's home screen.

The shortcuts arrive with Voice 2021.11.15.411104209, complementing its existing selection of widgets. You get one for starting new calls, one for starting new text conversations, and a couple that give quick access to your most recently used contacts. Just be careful with those, because as 9to5Google helpfully points out, they're configured to immediately dial that person when accessed, which may not be what you were intending — why there's no matching “jump right to this person's text conversation,” we can't say.

Even considering that limitation, we're honestly just pleased as punch to see Google Voice picking up any new functionality at all, as that just feels like far too infrequent an occurrence these days. If you're not running Voice 2021.11.15.411104209 just yet and are anxious to try out these shortcuts for yourself, you can go ahead and manually sideload the update with the help of APK Mirror.