Android P May Bring Stricter Call Blocking, First Developer Preview Tipped for Mid-March Release

Android P will be the next big upgrade to Google's popular mobile operating system, with an official announcement expected at Google's I/O event later this year. New developments now reveal that Android P Developer Preview 1 may be released as early as mid-March 2018. We can expect the release to happen around March 14, i.e, Pi Day. Additionally, Android P is reported to come with "enhanced call blocking features" that might help users filter spam and unknown calls effectively.

As per a tweet by prolific tipster Evan Blass, Android P Developer Preview 1 will be available for eligible users around mid-March. Some users have speculated that it could be around Pi Day (March 14) considering the software could have a "Pie" moniker. While he does not mention any other details, we can expect the stable build of Android P to be available in the second half of 2018.

Separately, a report by XDA Developers states that Android P might be bringing enhanced call blocking to the native dialler app. AOSP commits, added by a Sony engineer, spotted online show certain new criteria that will allow users to block calls from different sources. The report says these include cases when "The phone number is not in your contacts list", "The phone number is not disclosed by the caller (Private), "The phone number is from a pay phone", "The phone number does not have any caller ID information (unknown/ unidentified)."

The report also claims that the options will appear only if the mobile carrier allows them. Additionally, it is also said that call blocking would not be applicable while making an emergency call. While the feature hasn't yet been merged into the AOSP of Android P, chances of it making it into the final build are highly likely.

Previously, reports have stated that Android P will get features such as native support for iris scanning, support for notch design, native call recording, and ability to hide signal strength (for carriers).