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Only moments ago, Google announced their all new instant messaging service Google+ Hangouts at this year’s Google IO 2013 and now — it’s officially available on Google Play. There were some questions at first on whether this would replace Google Talk (GTalk) and it looks like Google has confirmed this by specifically mentioning in the title that, well, “Replaces Talk.”
To apply the update, you MUST install from the Google Play Store on your computer’s web browser — this will NOT install from the Play Store on your Android device. Jump on to the link below to be taken to Play Store where you can give it a download and try it for yourself. Still having trouble? Try sideloading the official apk here.
[Download the Google+ Hangouts apk]
[Google Hangouts on Google Play]
Thanks, Tommy!
I like how it’s not on tablets.
Just installed on my Nexus 4 but it is not compatible with my Transformer Prime… :-/
Yeah, noticed the Nexus 7 isn’t compatible!?!?!
Yeah, it seems to be connected to your phone number, I guess for SMS to work? So it doesn’t seem available for tablets.
strange it is not compatible for tablets. it has working tablet layout in it (very similar to old talk layout on tablets). i have just tested it with paranoid android.
propably you should just take apk from your phone and install it to tablet ;)
I think I’ll give that a try :)
I’m more than sure that will work. Apps usually work fine when they say they can’t. And then when the app officially becomes available it doesn’t work. LoL!!
screenshots look like it can run on nexus 7…
probably rolling out later
I’m able to run Hangouts on my ASUS Transformer (TF101) tablet. As above, I had to UNINSTALL Google Talk, after which I could install Hangouts from either the Web or from the tablet. Google Talk was a system app on my tablet, so I used Titanium Backup to uninstall it.
Installed, but no showing up. It just takes me to GTalk instead. Maybe they haven’t quite flipped the switch yet?
OK got it installed … I had two phone profiles on the Play store, had to switch to the second one.
I still have to use separate apps for SMS, Google+ Messenger, Hangouts, and Gmail (desktop still uses Talk). Why not just combine them all into one messaging app? I thought that was the point of this update? They could have at least gotten ride of Google+ Messenger. It seems to me that all they have done is added a few functions to Talk and rebranded it. *Scratches head*
Maybe the G+ app will be updated soon to get rid of its built in Messenger/Hangouts? As is, this seems pointless.
How do you actually install this? I have talk installed, according to the play store I already have hangouts installed and offers to open it, opening causes talk to open. There is no hangouts icon in my app drawer.
You have to go to the Play Store website and have it sent to your phone. After that, it will replace the Talk icon in your app drawer.
I can’t send it since the web and phone versions of the play store both say that it is already installed.
Then remove talk, go on the web play store and install hangouts
Clear the data from Google Talk by going into your Settings > Applications.
Make sure you don’t open Talk, then jump onto your desktop web browser and install from there. Let me know if this worked.
That is what I had to do, so it does work.
Nope, still does not work. Do I actually have to have Google+ installed?
web
You have to go to the web version of Google Play to update Talk to Hangouts…just an FYI.
Hangouts also shows as installed there but it isn’t installed on my phone and talk is still there.
Did you update via the web? The Hangouts icon should replace the Talk icon.
It shows as installed if you have Google Talk installed.
Clear the data from Google Talk in Settings > Applications.
Make sure you don’t open Talk, and jump onto your desktop web browser and install from there. Let me know if this worked.
Tried it Chris its not working
Install it from the desktop web using an alternate Google account. It worked for me.
What I had to do was UNINSTALL Google Talk, after which I could install Hangouts from either the Web or from the phone. Google Talk was a system app on my device, so I used Titanium Backup to uninstall it.
Yep. That’s what I had to do.
Did you guys notice that you get the old talk notification along with the new bubble notification in status bar for each incoming message?
Mine is built into SG4, so no new goodies for me just yet. Same talk icon and functions.
update from web
ok but why is there still a hangout and messenger in the google plus app…thats still duplication and defeats the purpose….hmmm maybe google+ update is coming
Not available on my N7, ‘not compatible’, and on my phone it says its installed even though I didn’t get the option to, only open. On checking, I still only have Talk ??
I’m completely underwhelmed by Google’s “unified” messaging app. It doesn’t get rid of the need to use Gmail, SMS or Voice, so what exactly did this “unify”? Unless Google is going to have a massive update soon that rolls ALL (maybe not Gmail, I don’t know how I’d feel about that) messaging into one app, this app does nothing new. I barely used Talk anyway, it’s just as easy to text (either SMS or Voice) and not everyone has Talk, but EVERYONE has SMS or Voice (or both).
And as mentioned a bunch of times, no tablet support? Really? They made such a fuss during the keynote about UI and tablet/phone layout and the like, then no tablet support for their new messaging app?
Ah… first world problems.
That’s what has me thinking this isn’t the “unified” messaging app people have been hinting at, as I missed that part of the keynote and didn’t see if they confirmed this app to be it. To me it looks like just a revamp on google talk that their hoping to drag more people into google+, I like it in that regards but like you feel disappointed that it’s not the unified messaging app everyone’s been talking about……guess we’ll just have to wait and see
“Unified” was always nothing but rumor, while leaks showed a rebranded Google Talk. This isn’t really that surprising to me.
I think you’re exactly right. I’m reading a Verge article about Hangouts and it basically states that Google’s messaging system was a disaster and they pulled together to create a “unified” system, but what it unified was Talk, Google+ Messenger and Google+ Hangouts.
They definitely are really pushing users to their services, which is expected. However, though we’d like to think so (and the numbers do tend to back us up) not EVERYONE uses Android, but as I mentioned, they do all have SMS/Voice. If Google really wanted everyone using their services, then include SMS and Voice in the Hangout app, then by default everyone would be using some form of their services and it would be rolled into one product.
Google does have the tendency to take us all by surprise, so perhaps, like you said, we’ll just have to wait and see and maybe we’ll be blown away with a true “unified” messaging app. Until then, I’ll continuing using Voice and SMS and Hangouts will be relegated to my app drawer, seldom to be used.
Google has an agenda and it’s clear. You, your mom, and everyone else will soon need to have a Google+ account to take full advantage of their services. Unfortunately, it looks like this will be the norm moving forward. :/
Yes, I’m disappointed in this. Especially since they try to enforce your real identity on a Google+ account. For godssakes, I just use talk as an IM messenger between the wife and I during the day… Talk could use some attention and features, but this sure isn’t it.
Funny because its working just fine on my nexus 7 and transformer. I’m chatting with my wife right now on both.
I don’t get it either, I love the new features, but it doesn’t seem the services are all efficiently brought to one location. Instead of all tied into together from multiple google services. Kind of defeats the purpose of truly unifying services.
love it
about tikeme google gave tlk some love
I’m interested in seeing how / if it works with Google Voice.
edit: i guess it’s common knowledge now that the Voice Team is working on integration but isn’t there yet
Yeah I read that but I am still unsure what it does in conjunction with google voice at all yet.
What about gtalk on PC’s? Would this eventually replace that as well?
Anyone else notice it isn’t compatible with Google’s own Nexus 10?
The same for Nexus 7.
Still can’t send files via chat? WTF???
What chat server is able to do that? And by files do you mean random files or just pictures?
windows live messenger
Pretty sure I remember doing it with ICQ like 80 years ago
Just downloaded it. Looks nice.
Don’t get how this works, I have a contact listed as a G+ contact under frequently contacted and the same contact listed as a phone contact under all contacts. In the people app they’re connected so are they meant to be in hangouts too? Can start a hangout with the G+ 1 but asks if I want to invite him via SMS for the phone contact…will the 2 contacts combine if they install hangouts?
Yes, many contacts show up twice now. This is all very confusing.
To make things worse, that same contact has messaged me and it’s come up with a Talk notification but pressing on it doesn’t do anything and the message doesn’t appear in hangouts.
I have lots of double contacts too. Some both show up in frequently contacted. Some show up as 1 in there and 1 in other. It’s a mess.
The people who are complaining because the App doesn’t match rumors, are fools…. It’s free.
Yeah but rumors are supposed to be based off of some kind of factual information.
I don’t like this new format… Before with Google Talk, I can see who is online. But now with Hangout, everyone shows up.
If they aren’t online, their photo is faded.
How about the people not in my Google+ circle. I can see them online in Google talk, but there isn’t a way to tell in Hangout since he is not in any of my circles.
I have some friends on iOS using stuff like BeeJive on Google Talk. I can’t tell if they are online or not now. This new app is a mess. It has all my contacts in there, hundreds, and some of the people I talk to daily are way at the bottom. This is no replacement for Google Talk, it’s a disaster.
Also, on some of the pictures I can’t tell if it is faded or not… why can’t they put a green dot next to the names if they are online and active???
This blows. I tested it on my tablet and its useless to me. I love GTalk and the fact that any of my contacts who are online are at the top of my list and clearly highlighted as ONLINE. With this new app, its just a list of hundreds of contacts.
No display options. No option to hide contacts. No option to block contacts. Nothing. If its not going to prioritize my google talk contacts it doesn’t work for me.
“Unlike Google Talk, Hangouts does not support “invisible” status.”
Interesting how after installing google hangouts google talk is deleted from my phone and the talk shortcut that was leftover goes to Hangouts now. But g+ messenger has somehow survived.
UGH! google….it could be so simple but you have to make another service that is “not quite there” that the average consumer will veto
1) Put hangouts in place of the stock messeging app in android. If I am sending a messege to another android/google user, send an IM, if the recipiant is a non android/google user, have it send a SMS, like iChat does. ….this is so simple….why cant we do this
2) why do i still have google+ messenger? im confused….
also, integrate it with Drive and gmail so i can easily share files as well!
i was thinking this too, it does look like there was some drive and gmail integration last week, and some wallet and gmail sharing now too. integration of services is great i hope it keeps up.
yeah I thought that’s what they were doing, but apparently we’re going to have to use separate apps for everything still.
I did the update, but I have no idea what’s up with all this redundancy. I use the Google + app on my S3 to video hangout with my mom, who uses the Nexus 7 I bought her. Now I have two, different ways to do the same thing? Why? This doesn’t seem worth confusing my mom over. Not to mention, apparently this won’t work on her tablet anyway.
Seriously Google…? The update is so smooth, it’s beautiful! If only this was integrated with SMS like iMessage was.. we would have had a REAL winner here =
No invisibility, stopped working with other xmpp contacts (not @gmail.com) and also those gmails without g+
Fortunately you can uninstall and have Talk back, but for how long? GTalk is my primary communication channel ;/
Good:
+ Now you can copy msg text
+ Few more, but those bad destroyed all fun
Bad:
– Broken xmpp
– No invisibility
– No list with real contacts and their statuses
– Google knows better which people are important, and you can’t change that
I use it as my primary too and this is terrible. We might just have to start using a 3rd party app. :(
Uploaded the apk so those still having trouble getting it to install can sideload it. :)
Absolutely absurd that you have to sideload it or jump through hoops to install it online. 99% of users who are facing whatever this problem will open up the Play store, see that Hangouts is “installed” as it claims, open it, and see the same old Talk interface. Or they’ll see that they’ve installed it, but will be frustrated because it doesn’t show up in their app list (since it’s still called Talk there). Hopefully they get this fixed soon.
I still have GChat and Messenger app on my Nexus 4 I went the the Google Play store and it says I have Hangout installed but I clearly do not, its still GChat
Why is Google so bad at this? Good ideas, terrible communication and implementation.
Did you guys notice that you get the old talk notification along with the new bubble notification in status bar for each incoming message??
thank you for the APK phandroid you fixed my problems. please in the future always post apks
i have both google+ app and hangouts app on my s3. when i get a hangout invite it rings both apps. how do i disable the google+ notification?
For me this is the worst update I have ever seen. The core functionality of a quick messaging app is gone. I can’t see which users are currently online so I have no idea when I might expect a response from the person I just messaged. That’s secondary to the host of bugs and performance issues I’m suffering on a phone that was top of the line when I bought it less than 2 years ago. Major failure here.