New Hangouts v2 will support SMS and MMS, but Google Voice integration will take some time
Many suspected that once the all new Hangouts v2 began rolling out on Google Play (arriving first on the Nexus 5), it would bring not only the SMS integration we’ve all been requesting, but integrated Google Voice SMS and calling too. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it looks like Google Voice anything on Hangouts wont be happening anytime soon.
According to Googler Nikhyl Singhal, Google has run into some snags with getting Google Voice integrated into Hangouts. The explanation is kind of weird, but it has something to do with 3rd party developers using Google Voice services in their own apps, and it creating some kinda of headache for Google. Google has put those developers on notice, saying they have until May 15th, 2014 to cease and desist.
Keep in mind that Sprint users who’ve enabled Google Voice on their number will be unaffected by all of this (luckies). As far as an ETA on when we can expect Google Voice SMS messages to finally integrate into Hangouts, Singhal says only to expect everything up and running by early next year.
You might remember a few weeks ago we told you guys about the latest Hangouts update to hit iOS users. Well, don’t get too bent out of shape. Where the update enabled voice calls over data (cellular or WiFi) using Google Voice numbers, it was limited to only that. iOS users still don’t have SMS integration in Hangouts. We can’t even imagine the hell that would break loose in the Android community if they did.