Android Authority guide shows how to approximate Pixel VIPs on non-Pixel phones

Pixel VIPs gives users a hub-like widget for keeping in touch with important contacts. The guide's author, who uses a non-Pixel device as a daily driver, said the workaround could not replicate the feature one-for-one but came surprisingly close by combining several existing Android tools.

For Do Not Disturb, the guide said setting a contact as a Favorite in Google Contacts automatically adds that person to the exception list. Users can also open their phone's Do Not Disturb settings, usually found in sound or notification settings, or hold down the Do Not Disturb toggle in quick settings. The allow options let users select contact categories such as favorites; some phones, including Samsung Galaxy devices, also allow individual contacts to be selected.

For location, Find Hub can share a user's location and track loved ones. The author said they used it with their parents during a road trip. Pixel VIPs includes location tracking on the contact page along with weather and time information for the contact's location. The guide said Find Hub is its preferred method, but users with a contact's Gmail address saved can also start location sharing from Google Contacts. Once a contact shares location through Find Hub or Contacts, a map appears on that person's Google Contacts page. Users who do not share location in real time can still add an address, even just a suburb, to see weather and time information; the address can be added by tapping the pen icon on the contact page, scrolling down and selecting Address. The interface is less polished than Pixel VIPs, according to the guide, but it provides the details.

The Google Contacts Favorites widget can be placed on the home screen to display contact icons and open contact pages with a tap. The author said the widget created a hub of important contacts on the home screen. Adding details such as a person's address and key dates makes the pages more useful; Google Contacts populates the page with those details and adds birthdays and anniversaries to the calendar, with a reminder in the Contacts app on the day. The widget ties the experience together, the guide said.

The main missing feature is the ability to link to WhatsApp, which Pixel VIPs allows. The author said they missed this because most chats happen in WhatsApp, but added that users who primarily use Google Messages would not have this problem. The author said the experiment recreated the most important features, with most differences coming down to design and WhatsApp integration. The aim was to keep important contacts front and center and make it easier to check in with them more often.

The author argued that the VIPs experience should be rolled out more widely as a Google Contacts or Android feature rather than remain limited to Pixel phones.