If you have ever wished you could share your location with someone while texting them, or wanted your face to show up properly when you call someone. Google just rolled out a set of updates to Android that makes everyday phone use noticeably better. And the best part? You do not need to buy a new phone to get them.

The biggest addition is live location sharing inside Google Messages. Say you are on your way to meet a friend and they keep asking, "Where are you?" instead of typing back every few minutes, you can now share your live location directly in the chat as a moving map. They can watch your little dot getting closer in real time. Simple, practical, and long overdue.

The second update is a personal calling card. Right now, when you call someone who does not have your number saved, they just see digits on their screen. With the new calling card feature, you can set your own photo, choose your font, and pick a colour, so the person on the other end sees a proper, personalised card when your call comes through. It feels more human, and it looks a lot better.

Here is the update that deserves more attention. If you use a Bluetooth luggage tracker, the kind you slip into your suitcase before a flight, Google now lets you share that tracker's location directly with your airline if your bag goes missing. More than ten airlines are already on board, including Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, Air India, and China Airlines. Instead of standing at a helpdesk describing your suitcase to someone typing slowly, your airline can actually see where the bag is. That is a genuinely useful real-world problem being solved.

Haven't iPhones had some of these already?

Yes, and it is worth being honest about that. Apple's iPhones have had live location sharing and personalised caller ID for over a year. Google is playing catch-up on those two features, no question. But here is the thing Android runs on more than three billion phones around the world. That means these updates land in the hands of far more people than any iPhone feature ever reaches. If you are an Android user, it does not matter that iPhone got there first. What matters is that your phone now does it too.

What does this mean for you?

Simply put, your Android phone is getting better without you spending a cent. At a time when new phones are getting more expensive and most people are holding onto their devices longer, updates like these matter. Your phone in your pocket today is more capable than it was last week.

Apple is still working hard on its own side the company has been trying to build a smarter version of Siri for a while now, though that project has apparently hit some bumps along the way. The competition between the two is as fierce as ever, and that is ultimately good for everyone using a smartphone, regardless of which one.

For now, if you are an Android user, go check your Google Messages app. Your phone just quietly got an upgrade.