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Our smartphones are capable of doing so many amazing things that it's easy to forget that they are also phones. To that end, the phone dialer apps in our devices haven't evolved much in the last five years, as people have slowly moved towards texting as their primary mode of communication. Android 4.4 KitKat makes the dialer exciting again by adding a feature that should have been in smartphones from day 1: It tells you who exactly is calling, even if they're not in your contacts.
Built-in caller ID
The new dialer app will show you a photo and tell you which business is calling.
Home caller ID systems have been around for roughly two decades now, but smartphones have been slow to adopt the same technology. Some carriers, like Verizon, have apps that show you who is calling and where the call is coming from but you usually have to pay extra for the service.
The dialer app in Android KitKat effectively makes such services obsolete, as it uses Google Maps and Google Plus to let you know who is trying to reach you. If, for whatever reason, your local Starbucks is giving you a ring, Google will cross reference the number with local businesses and give you a heads up that the coffee shop is calling.
The feature isn't foolproof—it seems to work better with businesses that have Google+ profiles, as well as up-to-date information on Google Maps—so there will still be times where you'll have no idea who's on the other end.
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