Microsoft Adds Incoming Call Notifications to Edge: Share Your Feedback

Microsoft Proposes Incoming Call Notifications for Web Apps

Microsoft has recently unveiled an exciting proposal aimed at enhancing the Notifications API to accommodate incoming call notifications for web applications. This initiative seeks to empower developers to customize how notifications for incoming calls are presented.

Enhancements to the Notifications API

The proposed enhancements would enable features such as customizable buttons for incoming calls. For instance, options like “Close”for dismissing notifications, “Audio”for accepting an audio call, and “Video”for switching to video mode could be available.

As it stands, the current Notifications API has limitations that restrict developers’ ability to prioritize notifications, assign ringtones, or alter the buttons displayed in notifications. Microsoft’s proposal looks to fill these gaps specifically for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications.

Introducing the “Scenario”Property

Under the new guidelines, VoIP application developers would have the opportunity to utilize a new “scenario”property within the existing options parameter. This property will help indicate whether a notification pertains to an incoming call, accepting two designated values: incoming-call and default. Future updates may include additional scenarios designed for alarms and reminders.

A notification designated with an incoming-call scenario would automatically gain higher priority status. Microsoft has shared illustrative examples of how these notifications may appear in the Edge browser.

Aligning with Existing Platforms

This initiative by Microsoft seeks to bring Edge in line with existing VoIP capabilities available on other platforms. For instance, Android offers a CallStyle notification template starting with Android 12 (API level 31), which allows users to view caller information and choose actions like “Answer”or “Decline”.Similarly, iOS applications utilize CallKit to exhibit incoming calls in a manner that mimics the native Phone app, providing a seamless user experience.

Addressing Potential Concerns

Recognizing potential misuse, Microsoft has proposed safeguards against ringtone abuse from web applications. Should concerns arise regarding notifications from a particular app, users can disable notifications specifically for that application. Ringtone features, as stipulated by the proposal, will be confined to the Progressive Web App (PWA) versions of websites.

Inviting Community Feedback

If this proposal piques your interest, Microsoft is actively seeking community feedback. Interested individuals can voice their opinions by opening a new issue in the GitHub repository. Meanwhile, those eager to test the feature in Edge can follow a simple set of instructions outlined below.

Launch Microsoft Edge on Windows using the command line with the feature flag: msedge.exe --enable-features=IncomingCallNotifications.

Access the calls notification sample app.

Install the app by clicking the App available button in the address bar.

Once installed, enable notifications by clicking the Permission button within the app.

Finally, click the Show an incoming call notification button to test the feature.

This call for feedback follows shortly after the launch of Edge 132, which introduced a variety of enhancements, including a revamped price tracker and vital security updates.

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