I can't believe Google is making such a big deal out of Pixel VIPs — it's the most disappointing new feature in years

Tom's Guide

19-06-2025

Pixel VIPs is a new feature that's part of Android 16, and if you paid attention to Google's marketing and release notes,you'll know that it's being treated like a flagship addition — something that's to be desired, and that'll make owning a Pixel phone worthwhile.
Now that Android 16 is here, I can tell you that this absolutely isn't the case. In fact, Pixel VIPs seems pretty darn pointless in the grand scheme of things.
Of all the new features that have landed in Android 16, I don't know why Google is making such a big deal out of something that doesn't really offer anything of value.
Pixel VIPs is a new feature in the Contacts app on Android 16. As the name suggests, it's exclusive to Pixel phones. You can preselect up to 8 VIPs, each of whom have their own special pages.
Those pages have icons for the phone app, Google Messages, Google Meet, the Contacts app and (if you give Pixel VIPs permission) other third party apps like WhatsApp.The VIP pages also features a location option for "local updates," details on when you last spoke to each VIP, and notes and suggestions on "things to do together." It'll also remind you about their birthday, assuming you've told the app when it is.
The Pixel VIPs can be accessed through Contacts, or with a special new Pixel VIPs widget — which is also technically part of the Contacts app.
Really, it's kind of like the MySpace top friends list from back in the pre-Facebook era. Any readers born after 1995 should go and ask their parents or older siblings what I'm talking about.
I can see what Google is trying to do here. It's a way of resurrecting that idea of having your favorite or most important people in a list and adding some practical value to it. But every time I look at, or tinker with the Pixel VIPs feature, all I can think of is "Why?"
Do I need Google to suggest things I can watch with my girlfriend? Even after disclosing the kind of things she likes, those recommendations aren't particularly good. I also don't need another app to remind me when her birthday is — that's already in Google Calendar with all the other birthdays that don't belong to VIPs. She also has an iPhone, so conversing on Google Meet is never going to happen
I also don't need to know what the weather is like wherever my VIPs are. I'm English. Discussing the weather is half of what we all talk about, and without it, there would be little reason to speak to anyone.
I could maybe see some use in adding specific group chats to a list like this, but the fact Pixel VIPs is tied to the Contacts app means that isn't possible.
The only real benefit is that these contacts are supposed to be able to bypass the Do Not Disturb setting on your phone — though as far as I can tell, there's no way to toggle this particular feature on or off for individual contacts. So if you actually want to get the benefits of Pixel VIPs for certain people, you apparently need to be willing to give them unfiltered access to your phone as well.
Having a feature that lets key people contact you regardless of whether Do Not Disturb is on or not could be useful. But it feels like something that should be its own feature.
Frankly, it would have been better if Google had quietly added this feature in the background, and let more important apps and updates take the center stage. Because Pixel VIPs just doesn't have headliner potential.
Unfortunately, as it stands, Android 16 doesn't actually have a whole lot going for it. Maybe it's the fact the software was released so early, but it seems like all the actual upgrades are few and far between.
Take the Material Expressive 3 redesign, as one example. Google announced this at I/O 2025, but confirmed that it wouldn't be arriving until much later in the year. When that might be is anyone's guess. The same is true for the Desktop windowing feature, which is set to hit "large screen devices" toward the end of the year.
Similarly Live Updates, which seem to be Google's closest thing to Apple's Live Activities in the Dynamic Island doesn't seem to have a home on my Pixel 9 Pro. There's no settings menu for the feature, and I can't seem to find evidence that it's actually been added to my phone.
But, assuming it has, Google said that it would be restricted to ride share and food delivery notifications at first. And that's not a particularly large number of use-cases, so it feels rather disappointing even if I know these features can't include all apps right away.
So when you think about it, Google didn't have much chance not to try and hype up Pixel VIPs. Because it's not like anything more exciting was available.