Feature Request: Copying Recently Called Numbers in Samsung's Phone App

[adrianyepremyan]

Dear Samsung Team,

I’d like to bring up a long-standing usability concern with the Phone app on Samsung devices, particularly around copying recently called numbers. This topic has been raised multiple times in forums, and I’ll include links to some of those discussions below.

Currently, the process to copy a number from the Recents tab involves multiple non-intuitive steps:

1. Tap on the number.
2. Tap the hamburger menu in the top right corner.
3. Long-press the phone number displayed at the top left (beside the Back button).
4. Select Copy.

I didn’t discover these steps by myself—I had to search online for guidance. This alone felt unnecessary, and based on community feedback, I’m not alone in finding this process frustrating.

The phone number’s location next to the Back button makes it appear more like a header than an actionable element. To better understand the issue, I tested this with 13 colleagues and friends (a mix of iOS and non-Samsung Android users). None of them managed to copy a recent number within a minute or more. Nearly all were surprised when I explained the steps, with responses like, “Wait, you’re supposed to long-press that header?”

In contrast, Google’s Phone app allows users to long-press directly on a number to access options like Copy. While I understand Samsung uses this action for multi-select functionality, an alternative could be implemented.

Suggestion:
When viewing a number in detail (after tapping it), long-pressing the number could bring up a simple Copy button instead of triggering the same multi-select action used in the list view. This would reduce the process to three steps instead of four. It’s not perfect, but it aligns better with existing functionality and improves the user experience.

As a loyal Samsung user who prefers your Phone app for its unique features, I’m sharing this feedback on behalf of many users who face the same frustration. Reducing the steps needed for such a frequent task would greatly enhance the app's usability.

I’m currently using:

• Device: Galaxy S24 Ultra (US version)
• One UI: 6.1
• Android: 14
• Phone App Version: 15.3.54

Thank you for considering this request. I appreciate the hard work of your R&D and UX teams, and I hope this feedback helps in further refining an already great product!

Here are some related posts for reference:

• Copy a no. in the Phone app
• Impossible to copy a number in Phone app
• Add option to copy number in Phone app
• Copy-paste recent numbers
• Feature request: Copy number in Recents

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

[realaud]

I don't understand why you would need to copy a number from the call list.  If you want to call it again, just tap it and hit the call button.  If you want to add it to your contacts, just hit the add to contacts option.  If you want to copy it to add it to a text or note, just tap on the info bubble and then tap the number on the info screen.

[adrianyepremyan]

"If you want to copy it to add it to a text or note, just tap on the info bubble and then tap the number on the info screen."

@realaud Exactly. THAT's the problem. This process is unnecessarily convoluted. Did you even read my post? Let me break it down for you:

1. The current method is NOT intuitive, as you said yourself: "just tap this, then tap that." It’s more steps than necessary for such a basic function.

2. It takes FOUR steps just to copy a number from the recents tab. Do you really think that’s okay? Because I, and plenty of others, do not. That’s the whole reason I even created this post - to propose something better, simpler, and faster, and ideally to GET something better, simpler and faster.

Your reply feels dismissive and misses the entire point of this discussion. In my post I already described the steps you just wrote, so no need to write it again and use word `JUST` like that's elementary and how it's supposed to be.

Please, take a moment to actually understand the problem before replying.

[realaud]

I don't find a need to copy numbers, but it was very intuitive for me to figure it out. It really isnt a hassle to take a couple of extra steps for an occasional need. Yes, I did read your post.

[adrianyepremyan]

For me it's exactly the scenario you described - copy the number either to send it to someone else via message or some messenger app, or to copy it to later paste in the Keypad tab to edit it before making a call.

I just keep seeing people having this same frustration as me, maybe if you use the functionality more and use some other App (like Google's) for some time, you'll see what I mean.

[realaud]

In my entire considerable adult lifespan, I have never seen any complaint, other than yours, of people clamoring for an easy way to copy and paste a number from the call list. If there are previous posts on the subject, you should not have added yet another post, but gone to one of the posts and "liked" it.  The number of likes determines if there's enough interest in the feature.

If your aim is to get the number to the dial pad to edit (for some reason) before dialing, all you have to do is tap the number, tap the call icon and the number appears on the call screen.  The number, once in the number field, is easily editable. No call is made until you actually hit the call icon *on the dial pad*, just like if you entered the number manually.  If you want to send a text to that number, instead of tapping the call icon, you would tap the text icon, which will open your messaging app and start a chat, no need to copy and paste.  For you, it would probably be easier to just type out the number on your note, if you need to copy it, then go through the extraordinary hassle of taking 4 steps to copy (5 to paste).

[adrianyepremyan]

What you're saying is true, the steps you described etc. they will work, I know them as I'm doing that to "work around" this.

But this is Android, this is the valley of possibilities not workarounds, especially Samsung OS with its customizability and reach feature set, if something can be better, why not? Why do workarounds? On Windows you can of course use right click on selected text + click copy and then right click on a textbox and hit paste to get it done, but in practice I'll never do that till my keyboard is broken or smth, cause I can do SUPER FAST CTRL + C, CTRL +V, I'm not saying those are the same in terms of usage frequency, but if you know something can be improved, especially when you've used the same thing on other phones and know how convenient and fast a small thing can be, why should you sit and say yeah you know what, it's just a single or 2 steps more than on other devices? You can do it thi.... NO, if you don't like something, search for something else you would like, if you stumbled upon an issue, think about the ways it can be solved, if you think something doesn't work as intended or can be improved - share your ideas with others, more specifically to ones who can make a change happen... This is a mindset of... I would say an Android user, nothing more, you shouldn't be put in some sort of frames and keep doing something you're frustrated about. Sure I can switch my Phone app, that's what is beautiful about Android, but I like it, so why not try and suggest a small improvement to make something even better? Why avoid "perfection"?

I liked all the posts BTW, but I see they are from 2022-2023 mainly, so wanted to have something new, and something other than a comment to be more noticeable, hope you don't mind.

[realaud]

Because adding features of negligible benefit for lazy people only leads to operating system bloat and if there is already a way to do something, it's not a "workaround", it's the way.

[adrianyepremyan]

@realaud so if there's a way to do something, and if something works - never touch it? Are you familiar with IT sphere? I am a Software Engineer myself, "if something works - don't touch it" is a bad way to look at things, if you deliver something you keep it updated, improve it over time, you don't abandon it like that, ESPECIALLY when you know other alternatives do something better, the thing needs support.

So can you answer to me, why do we even get software updates? Why companies extending the period a new smartphone receives software updates to 5, 7 years matters to people? Because they know that their phone is gonne IMPROVE, it's not because their phone doesn't already work, but because they expect IMPROVEMENT over time, so it's not only about getting new features...

Also, tell someone 5 years ago that AI will be able to help you automate lot's of stuff for you, or  10 years ago that the assistant in your phone can help you setup an alarm for you or create a reminder when your hands are dirty or wet or just "lazy" to type - will they respond to you "hey, you're too lazy"? And I'm talking about a VERY small improvement here, so why is it a big deal to you? I'd call people like that lazy - lazy to get something new, use it, get used to it, do something in a better and ultimately faster way.

I get it this functionality doesn't matter to you at all, but why try convince someone else that it shouldn't matter to them as well?

[realaud]

Hey, if this is hill you want to die on, have at it. You still shouldn't have made another post on it, but rather added to the posts already there; that's how interest in a feature gets gauged. Given that you were able to find other posts on it, it's clear you know how to search.