New Hangouts update brings merged SMS/Hangout conversations, widget and more
Quick app update for those of you who have taken a liking to Hangouts after recent updates. The first big change you’ll want to know about is that you can finally merge Hangouts and SMS conversations, meaning you and a friend can exchange messages via either SMS or Hangouts (if they have it) and those conversations will all appear within the same conversation list. You can decide whether to send a message as a Hangout or SMS at the quick flip of a switch, and you can enable and disable merged view as freely as you want (or need) to.
There aren’t a ton of practical scenarios where one would have to hop back and forth between SMS and Hangouts, but it’s nice that this option is there for when those needs arrive. That’s not all, though — here’s everything else we’re told to expect:
- Simplified contact list: now there’s two main sections in contacts — People you Hangout With, and Phone Contacts — making it simpler to navigate, and easier to use for SMS.
- Homescreen widget: add the Hangouts widget to your homescreen for quick access to your recent conversations.
- Performance improvements: today’s update includes better quality video calls, as well as improved SMS and MMS reliability.
Google says the update is rolling out over the course of this week, so don’t be too worried if you aren’t able to grab the latest version from the Google Play Store right away. Let’s hope an APK eventually leaks for those who don’t have the patience of a xen master.
[via Google+, thanks base!]