Merging GSConnect with Gnome Calls and Gnome Chatty for better integration.

[shawny43]

Describe your request

It's undeniable that an better interface may be needed for this work. Reason, GSConnect could be a better fit and native integration when they could work with Calls and Chatty together without hassle of it.

The ability to get work all together is bring out the most userfriendly experience like other OS does. MacOS have iMessage that work together with iPhone by running a native app.

Windows have 'My Phone' Companion feature that was an app that link phone together, remote Samsung devices and manage audio and others setups.

Question is, why the bare minimum when you saw Phosh having a nicer interface with a userfriendly app that allow you to get calls and SMS on their respectives apps like an real phone over your computer?

GSConnect could work with apps without issue if codes will being built-together with these mobiles apps. So, just make a try of it.

Another case, GSConnect doesn't seem support files attachements, MMS and others kinds features that was provided from Google Messages. Phosh solve the problem with Chatty in Gnome. For calls, they did has well. So i guess it's could be possible if you check out sources codes provided and see if you can inject KDEConnect trough these apps has plugins or integrate them has native to their apps.

Proposed solution

Chatty has SMS Featured: https://gitlab.gnome.org/World/Chatty Calls has phone call features: https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/calls

Merge source codes together and make a better integration without hassle together.

Alternatives

Bring KDEConnect protocol trough Gnome mobiles apps instead by integrating KDEConnect directly from both apps.

GSConnect version

56

Installed from

GNOME Extensions website

GNOME Shell version

45.4

Linux distribution/release

Manjaro Linux (Rolling)

Additional context

[shawny43]

Blurred for privacy

[prahal]

From what I understood Chatty and Gnome Calls do not allow calling or text via an android phone. They, if your hardware has SIM support builtin and is supported by ModemManager allow you using your computer as a phone. If you have no SIM in your computer and want to call and text with your phone number are of no use. The feature to be able to call and have RCS support for texting requires the kdeconnect app for android to provide these feature. Android API might not even allow them to do so. The only thing that could be shared with Chatty and Gnome Calls is the UI. You should ask these projects to support gsconnect as backend, not the opposite. At best on the gsconnect side, gsconnect could provide an API for them to have access to kdeconnect feature.

In my opinion, RCS support in gsconnect makes sense. But phone calls ... gsconnect support muting the computer when you receive a call on the phone. Maybe providing an easy way to redirect sound input and output from the computer to the phone via pipewire Bluetooth to the phone or maybe a pipewire to kdeconnect plugin... but this looks like a big project where most of the work would be on the kdeconnect side too. And there is no code for that I believe in Gnome Calls.

The fact that Gnome Calls provides the ability to call via a SIM card on your computer (as far as I understand they use ModemManager so this is likely what they provide) has nothing in common with redirecting your sound input and output from your computer to your phone when you press a call button on the computer. They support VoIP but again this has nothing to do with gsconnect which is about using android phone features to a computer. I believe you can already set up pipewire to make your computer into a Bluetooth headset that you can connect to on your phone. Like you can for any bluetooth headset. But nothing like a button you click that will make your computer into a headset for your phone just for the call.

iMessage on Max OS X looks like it does not provide the call from computer feature.

The fact that "your Phone" from Microsoft, later "Phone Link" supports calling via Bluetooth/wifi to an Android phone tells that support for redirecting audio is achievable with current Android API. But I believe this is work for kdeconnect for Android and probably Pipewire. Then it will make sense to add support to gsconnect. But it seems even "Phone Link" only provides the ability to receive phone calls from the Android phone on the computer. I see nothing about doing the opposite (so there might be no UI to compose a number or anything fancy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phone_Link

To me working on such UI in gsconnect is not a good idea. It would be better to provide an API to Gnome Calls and Chatty. Mind these apps could even implement their kdeconnect for android support based on gsconnect, or this support to be moved to a common library for them and gsconnect.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/sync-across-your-devices shows that the current Microsoft product supports callings from the computer, entering a number, showing the phone call history.