Hangouts update merges SMS/Hangout conversations, adds widget, more
Google is rolling out a new update to Hangouts today, which includes several changes such as a new feature that allows SMS and Hangouts conversations to merge together under one place for each of your contacts. There’s also simplified contact lists and much more.
- Merged SMS/Hangout conversations: SMS and Hangout conversations with the same recipient are now combined into a single conversation. You can control whether you want to send a message via Hangouts or SMS with the flip of a switch, and different message types will be easy to tell apart in the conversation. Of course, you can always merge and unmerge conversations if you’d like
- Highlighted outgoing Hangout messages
- 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
- More Prominent Presence Status (on call, moods, etc)
- New Notification sound
- Separate voice and video call tones
- Performance improvements: today’s update includes better quality video calls, as well as improved SMS and MMS reliability
- Home screen widget: add the Hangouts widget to your homescreen for quick access to your recent conversations
- Long press on images to save media
The update to Hangouts 2.1 is expected to start rolling out to users in the coming days.
Download : Hangouts (Play Store)
