Rhett Robinson
3 months agoPublic
Hangouts: now smarter, faster, and a lot more fun
If you’re like me, you want to stay connected with friends and family without technology getting in the way. Hangouts lets you focus on the people you love talking to, so your conversations feel as in-the-moment and natural as they do in real life.
Today we’re updating the Hangouts app for Android to make it easier to express yourself, and have more fun along the way:
- Like the saying goes, a sticker is worth a thousand words. From penguins to pirates, koalas to cats, 16 new sticker packs (and more to come!) have tons of ways to say what’s on your mind.
- Give your video calls some extra flair with video filters including sepia, vignette, black & white, and more. Just swipe during a video call to try these new styles.
We’re also making it easier to start conversations with friends and family:
- Confirm your phone number so your friends who already have your digits can more easily find and message you in Hangouts.
- Know when your friends are ready to chat right now with “last seen” timestamps, so you never have to type, “You there?”
Hangouts is also introducing the start of something new -- smart suggestions right in your conversations:
- When you’re trying to meet up with friends in real life and someone asks, “Where are you?”, Hangouts can now understand what you need and offer to help. You’ll see a one-tap option to share your location right in the conversation, without you needing to hunt around in a map, drop a pin and send your position.
Try all the new features by updating the Hangouts app on your Android device (http://goo.gl/v7FTL - rolling out to the Play Store over the next few hours). Note that “last seen” timestamps will roll out in waves over the next few weeks, so you may not see this feature for all your contacts right away. Today’s updates will also be available on the Hangouts iOS app soon.
P.S. We’ve added a few other surprises to this Hangouts update, but we’ll let you find them on your own. Woot!
If you’re like me, you want to stay connected with friends and family without technology getting in the way. Hangouts lets you focus on the people you love talking to, so your conversations feel as in-the-moment and natural as they do in real life.
Today we’re updating the Hangouts app for Android to make it easier to express yourself, and have more fun along the way:
- Like the saying goes, a sticker is worth a thousand words. From penguins to pirates, koalas to cats, 16 new sticker packs (and more to come!) have tons of ways to say what’s on your mind.
- Give your video calls some extra flair with video filters including sepia, vignette, black & white, and more. Just swipe during a video call to try these new styles.
We’re also making it easier to start conversations with friends and family:
- Confirm your phone number so your friends who already have your digits can more easily find and message you in Hangouts.
- Know when your friends are ready to chat right now with “last seen” timestamps, so you never have to type, “You there?”
Hangouts is also introducing the start of something new -- smart suggestions right in your conversations:
- When you’re trying to meet up with friends in real life and someone asks, “Where are you?”, Hangouts can now understand what you need and offer to help. You’ll see a one-tap option to share your location right in the conversation, without you needing to hunt around in a map, drop a pin and send your position.
Try all the new features by updating the Hangouts app on your Android device (http://goo.gl/v7FTL - rolling out to the Play Store over the next few hours). Note that “last seen” timestamps will roll out in waves over the next few weeks, so you may not see this feature for all your contacts right away. Today’s updates will also be available on the Hangouts iOS app soon.
P.S. We’ve added a few other surprises to this Hangouts update, but we’ll let you find them on your own. Woot!
martin shervington3 months ago
Super! Gotta love a cat on a skateboard :D
p.s. good article on the location sharing aspect here: http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/10/7367337/googles-new-hangouts-app-introduces-clever-location-sharing+12
p.s. good article on the location sharing aspect here: http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/10/7367337/googles-new-hangouts-app-introduces-clever-location-sharing+12
Manish Sahai3 months ago
I really hope it's faster! Waiting waiting. +28
Joshua Berg3 months ago
Intelligent Hangouts, Wow! _smart suggestions right in your conversations._ This is gonna go places.+11
Maqdum Sharieq3 months ago
i hope too it ll be good !!!+1
Deviantartjr Henz3 months ago
+Artem Russakovskii +Derek Ross +12
William Johnson3 months ago
i was hoping it'd be something useful like upping the 100 person limit... or an api... moderation tools to kick from a group hangout...
instead we get stickers.+107
instead we get stickers.+107
Charles Beel3 months ago
Group MMS? :(+22
Anthony Gordano3 months ago
Can u re-add the old android emoji from the android version of talk? I liked those! http://i.stack.imgur.com/ckLz7.jpg
Matt Rickey3 months ago
Can we send these great HD videos somehow? That's would be a killer feature +7
Eric Liou3 months ago
Sending messages as fast as whatsapp? 🙏 please! +22
Adrián Hernán3 months ago
Can I use the images for my web?+1
Jason Murray3 months ago
Ask me to confirm whether I want to make a video call or not! The answer is always no!+20
Joshua Berg3 months ago
+William Johnson NLP AI (Artificial Intelligence) has just joined Google+ Hangouts, the importance & potential of that should not be underestimated. While it's starting simple, I would say it is a kind of technological milestone. Listen to +Bradley Horowitz talk about it at leweb.co/leweb-live .+10
Fer F3 months ago
With "faster" is enough.....
Akshay Jain3 months ago
+Android Police!!
+Artem Russakovskii
Wake Up guys!+16
+Artem Russakovskii
Wake Up guys!+16
Daniel Hernandez3 months ago
Can´t wait for it!!! oh yeah baby!
Martin Reinders3 months ago
Please share the APK+4
Peb Cak3 months ago
And still not able to remove people from a group hangout and still got a userlimit. Awesome... I really needed those video filters and stickers.+32
Florian Kiersch3 months ago
+Rhett Robinson is there a reason why the back arrow in screens 3 and 6 changes colors? Seems to be an inconsistency otherwise.+4
Zulkarnain Maktar3 months ago
Jamal Adam3 months ago
Where is that material design I want?? +17
Jonas Göhmann3 months ago
+Jordan Deck sounds good +1
Tim W3 months ago
+1 +William Johnson need more than 100 to group message and moderator rights. +13
Matthew Magill3 months ago
Not getting annoying sticker spam was a positive feature of hangouts. Sad to see that's gone.+14
Roshan John3 months ago
Yessssssssss! Finally! Much gratitude. +George Kuriakose
Iván Estévez3 months ago
☐ Hangouts albums separate from regular photo albums
☐ Mute/kick users from groups
☐ Attach vídeo from mobile
☐ Attach multiple images
☐ Speech messages
☐ Resume conversations from the 1st unread message
☑ Stickers
☑ Video filters
Well, maybe 2016... #hangoutswishlist+157
☐ Mute/kick users from groups
☐ Attach vídeo from mobile
☐ Attach multiple images
☐ Speech messages
☐ Resume conversations from the 1st unread message
☑ Stickers
☑ Video filters
Well, maybe 2016... #hangoutswishlist+157
SerenityNow !3 months ago
+Iván Estévez this
Charlotte Pierce3 months ago
Gets cheesier. Not helpful. Can we switch off the stickers?+13
Loren Cogar3 months ago
OMG this is the big announcement? Not something useful like material design or performance improvements? Some useless stickers yay. +29
Kurt Palmer3 months ago
+Rhett Robinson, any chance we will have the ability to set our status within hangouts (like in the old Google talk) to show that we are busy , currently in another hangout or some other message. I think that would be the last missing feature I am waiting to see come over.
+3
+3
Steven Cornea3 months ago
This is it?.... Are you kidding me!? Great, more features no one is gonna use. Fix the shit design.+12
François Simond3 months ago
+Iván Estévez I love how you used Unicode characters to make those checkboxes, can I ask you what's your method to do so?
Ananya Gupta3 months ago
No API? Or Voice command integration? Better unification like iMessage? Do you even listen to your user base bro?+17
Darko Psy3 months ago
Can't wait for the update...Wonderful :-)
Ben Smith3 months ago
Why are most people commenting ignoring the introduction of smart suggestions. That's one of the things I was really looking forward to in this update.
Also, what's with people wanting speech messages? I don't really get that.+6
Also, what's with people wanting speech messages? I don't really get that.+6
Iván Estévez3 months ago
+François Simond just google "checkbox ascii" and you get ☐, ☑ and ☒+6
Ananya Gupta3 months ago
+Ben Smith people want feature parity with the biggest competitor. Not everyone over the world has voicemail service for free.+4
François Simond3 months ago
+Iván Estévez cool ☺ I was wondering if this was a feature present in a virtual keyboard for Android.
That'll be nice! Copy and paste for now then thanks.
That'll be nice! Copy and paste for now then thanks.
Christopher Ureña3 months ago
+Rhett Robinson good work on the latest update. Can the limit be raised past 100. It is really necessary for Ingress groups. +2
Alijah Simon3 months ago
Like tablet support?+2
Alijah Simon3 months ago
Like tablet support?+1
Ben Smith3 months ago
+Ananya Gupta honestly voicemail is awful compared to a text. I can't stand getting voicemails. They always sound terrible and I can only listen to them in specific situations (like in a private, quiet place).+4
Weasel3 months ago
How about increasing the number of users that can participate in a Hangout and add some sort of moderation to remove unruly participants? The 2nd request is a basic function of Internet chat dating back to ICR. Less cats, more functionality. Thanks... +21
Ananya Gupta3 months ago
+Ben Smith I gave you an example, the developing world has other use cases for it as well.+2
Haran G3 months ago
Michael Bond3 months ago
+Iván Estévez Might as well add a conversation search feature to the wish list.+15
Alejandro Rodriguez Mann3 months ago
When are you going to add the ability to send multiple pics, video and audio notes?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Grrrrr!!!!!!!! This should come first! +17
Nick Miltner3 months ago
Am I the only one that the mismatched color of text and icons in the action bar drives absolutely nuts? +2
Anders Nielsen3 months ago
Still hate that I can't paste photos from my clipboard to hangouts open in gmail/hangouts(OS X + Chrome)
Hope these extra features don't come with a performance drop...
Thanks for the update though:)+7
Hope these extra features don't come with a performance drop...
Thanks for the update though:)+7
Iván Estévez3 months ago
+Michael Bond my wishlist is ever bigger
☐ Be able to separate individual from group conversations
☐ A real useful way to manage conversations and search in them (not just on gmail)
☐ Delete individual messages, not the entire conversation
☐ SMS integrated as part of the thread (and saved to the web)
And I'm forgetting somethings for sure+26
☐ Be able to separate individual from group conversations
☐ A real useful way to manage conversations and search in them (not just on gmail)
☐ Delete individual messages, not the entire conversation
☐ SMS integrated as part of the thread (and saved to the web)
And I'm forgetting somethings for sure+26
Anders Jensen3 months ago
Stickers? And here I was hoping to see the 100 person limit removed. Oh well, people are already switching to other platforms, so I guess it doesn't matter...+6
Daniela Huguet Taylor3 months ago
Something I'm finding very useful in Whatsapp these days is the "forward text" option, which is like a copy&paste function all-in-one. Otherwise, good work!+1
Paul Simbeck-Hampson3 months ago
Doesn't look like the ability to search through a conversation made it into the line up - somewhat surprised (again), as Google is renowned for being pretty good at search. #sigh +18
Paul Simbeck-Hampson3 months ago
+Daniela Huguet Taylor WhatsApp also have a stream search option - it's really helpful for finding important information... #sarcasmintended +4
Ancyl S3 months ago
Don't see any mention of the following:
1) ability to send short vid in my hangouts or audio file types
2) adding bookmarks in group hangouts or ways to manage group hangouts better
3) ablility to select multiple pics at once +Rhett Robinson 😢+9
1) ability to send short vid in my hangouts or audio file types
2) adding bookmarks in group hangouts or ways to manage group hangouts better
3) ablility to select multiple pics at once +Rhett Robinson 😢+9
Julius Jonson3 months ago
Thank you! I can't wait to get the update!
Michael Meng3 months ago
:-( Nothing about the "100 persons in group chat cap), kicking/mute people out from group chat, faster GUI, better GUI, smarter GUI, all we get is a lousy T shirt and some children manga stickers that nobody wants. Ohhh and we didnt even get a T shirt.
sad sad thing, from great top notch chat app to kids chat app.
Wrong directions and One Directions are for kids+10
sad sad thing, from great top notch chat app to kids chat app.
Wrong directions and One Directions are for kids+10
Paul Simbeck-Hampson3 months ago
+Michael Meng Have to agree with your sentiment. Stickers and video filters could have waited until the actual useful features of managing conversations had been included. The intelligent smart suggestions is cool and I can see this evolving - but no search and no improved group chat management is a little sad for such big update announcement.+10
Anders Jensen3 months ago
+Rhett Robinson are you reading the comments? Or is everyone busy designing stickers?+9
Pavel Tikhonov3 months ago
Oh my god, you still haven't fixed the design? I bet it still looks like crap on big tablets+6
Eduardo Diosdado3 months ago
This is a terrible update. +8
Aryell Caesar3 months ago
+Paul Simbeck-Hampson well said+1
Elias Poveda3 months ago
Do we really need to see the profile pictures every time we get a message? The SMS Messegner or the desktop version of hangouts handle this much better, they only show the pic with the first message.+1
Jason Ceola3 months ago
And if hangouts was changed so I could add a photo after typing any text these things would be relevant bc I would actually use the app.+3
Cade Roux3 months ago
Great that these must-have items are scratched off the list, finally! I'm so excited that finally next up for improvements must be the 100 person limit and search and organizing all the myriad Hangouts for those of us that use Hangouts all the time.+4
Paul Simbeck-Hampson3 months ago
+Rhett Robinson - here's a post rant about adding a search option to Hangouts that I made back in November 2013. As you'll see I even added a suggested location for the search icon! I'll just leave this here in case your team missed it first time around... Over 18 months of having to go into Gmail to search for part of conversation in Hangouts - I mean come on - what's going on! https://plus.google.com/u/0/106342049490120140849/posts/ghbfsPR88aV
Edit: Just found this post too - dated July 24 2013 - again requesting a search option within the app. The official +Google+ Help account even said in the comments that they would send it over to the team!
https://plus.google.com/u/0/106342049490120140849/posts/2e5VKwYwpUV
Anyhoo, that's me done with ranting, I'm just going to quietly wait for the update; can't wait to add Cats on Skateboards to my conversations.+10
Edit: Just found this post too - dated July 24 2013 - again requesting a search option within the app. The official +Google+ Help account even said in the comments that they would send it over to the team!
https://plus.google.com/u/0/106342049490120140849/posts/2e5VKwYwpUV
Anyhoo, that's me done with ranting, I'm just going to quietly wait for the update; can't wait to add Cats on Skateboards to my conversations.+10
Faris Alahmad3 months ago
+Rhett Robinson Great update! looking forward for the next update... end-to-end encryption for all messages! ;-)
Roberto Acuña3 months ago
Gtalk is still faster delivering and receiving messages than Hangouts
- On web I switched back to Gtalk
- On Android I have to deal with Hangouts :/+2
- On web I switched back to Gtalk
- On Android I have to deal with Hangouts :/+2
Swapnil Patil3 months ago
nice update
Mikael Jakobsson3 months ago
Where is the APK file is just wait for +Android Police to get a update :) or +APK Mirror +2
Hendrik Laudemann3 months ago
#APKPLZ #SOONBACKANSWER ! :D+3
Bobbi Jo Woods3 months ago
FIRST!!!
Cristian Asenjo3 months ago
Will there be a performance improvement for SMS conversations with lots of messages? It seems like an SMS conversation always gets loaded entirely, and when there's more than 1500 SMS texts in there, it lags a lot more than when there's less than 1000.
It doesn't make sense to me to load everything at once, why not load the last 200 messages and then load incrementally as you scroll upwards?+1
It doesn't make sense to me to load everything at once, why not load the last 200 messages and then load incrementally as you scroll upwards?+1
Scott Ryskamp3 months ago
Please implement +TextSecure encryption+2
Mikael Jakobsson3 months ago
+Scott Ryskamp Totaly agree never wrong with some crypt at hangout mess. +1
Scott Ryskamp3 months ago
(+WhatsApp recently started using +TextSecure encryption)
Mikael Jakobsson3 months ago
+Scott Ryskamp ye and some apps remove the mess after 30 secounds so is not save one the database :P if people not read it into 30 secounds is not possibol to read it :P
Alot of crypt is just nice.
Alot of crypt is just nice.
srikanth chandrasekaran3 months ago
Still we don't have the SEARCH feature!!!!. This is not acceptable. AT ALL. +7
Derek Purdy3 months ago
if video chat could be as smooth as facetime that would be great... seriously.. it's the one feature i miss from my old iphone.+2
Scott Snodgrass3 months ago
Its a mock up version, look at the status bar. Google does this all the time. Hopefully doesn't look like crap.
Adrian Dunham3 months ago
+Anthony Garera check out what's new in hangouts
Evelio Tarazona Cáceres3 months ago
Audio and/or video messages anyone?+2
Adrian Meredith3 months ago
what about tablet support? Its currently an embarassment on my nexus 9
Raj Bhagwandas3 months ago
Chris O'Shea3 months ago
Please please please get rid of one touch video calling. So annoying to accidentally hit that button. Who thought that was a good idea?+2
Matthew Tsang3 months ago
nice big update, but i'm really not too sure about the last seen timestamp... this is the feature that i immediately turn off in whatsapp...+2
Mikael Jakobsson3 months ago
+Matthew Tsang Who knows them mabye add some On and Off button for that to later :)
Alex Reusch3 months ago
Where are you? kkkk.... Are you serious? Why don't you finally fix the gap you created with killing "Latitude"? Guys, make "Locations" work simple and easy and consistent on all clients (including on the web/desktop). And start adding some features. Maybe even make it a standalone app and give it a better name. That might work.+3
Derek Purdy3 months ago
whoa.. latitude.. i miss that app. even apple has that friend locator..what is it called.. find my friends? would be nice to have that for friends and family.+1
David Lawerteh3 months ago
Lollipop Overview screen support (Multiple conversations) for the next version please.+1
William Macdonald3 months ago
Please let us search Hangout messages on the phone!!!+2
Alex Reusch3 months ago
Or how about making Google Voice usefull for international users? When can we get a local GV number? ... or even get a number at all?
Corey M3 months ago
+Jillian Adams scroll up the thread and use the link next to the post that says APKMIRROR. Its about 9 posts up!+1
Sid Saxena3 months ago
Brandon Creek3 months ago
+Rhett Robinson, Please tell me that you guys finally added the ability to start a "Hangouts" conversation using a Google Now voice prompt. Up to this point, when you attempt to use the command, "Okay Google, send a message to..." or "Tell my wife that..." it defaults to an SMS message from the carrier number. This behavior is present when using the voice command on the phone as well as Android Wear. There are users like me who are fully immersed in the services that Google offers, and have no need to send messages via our carrier numbers since we have Hangouts and Google Voice SMS to fill that void. If this is not fixed in this update, please add it to the list of desperately needed improvements.
Edit: Ugh!! This is still not fixed! Is this really that hard of a feature to implement?!
Settings>(Google Account)> Toggle On/Off 'Use Hangouts when composing messages via Google Now when available"
Settings>SMS>Toggle On/Off 'Use Google Voice number when composing all SMS messages via Google Now."
Stickers are nice, but I want want some better usability out of this app. +13
Edit: Ugh!! This is still not fixed! Is this really that hard of a feature to implement?!
Settings>(Google Account)> Toggle On/Off 'Use Hangouts when composing messages via Google Now when available"
Settings>SMS>Toggle On/Off 'Use Google Voice number when composing all SMS messages via Google Now."
Stickers are nice, but I want want some better usability out of this app. +13
Armando Leon3 months ago
+Iván Estévez I came here to mention at least half of your list (other have too) video sharing has been part of Hangouts iOS for a very long while now I believe :@
Paul Simbeck-Hampson3 months ago
+Raj Bhagwandas thanks for the APK Mirror link.
Niels Bosch3 months ago
Update is now available. Here is an APK mirror http://www.amongtech.com/new-google-hangouts-2-5-apk-download/
Bill Hetzel3 months ago
Please make hangouts the default messaging app. And some way to know if my contacts are even using it and will get the message. Without this or asking them directly I have no way of knowing and have to just send an sms. +1
Paul Simbeck-Hampson3 months ago
#Feedback - The telephone button seems dangerously close to the settings icon; dangerous as in, one click and you're calling someone. My thumb is not huge and I've miss-hit the call button twice already. #UIUX (Nexus5)
Also, I don't see any more the green circle that indicates whether someone is online in the people tab?+1
Also, I don't see any more the green circle that indicates whether someone is online in the people tab?+1
Ryan Jackson3 months ago
You mean like facebook? …yay.+1
Patryk Zawadzki3 months ago
Can we get some Pusheen love?+2
Elie Charra3 months ago
+William Johnson +1
Corey M3 months ago
+Paul Simbeck-Hampson the settings are in the slide out menu, nowhere near the call button. I think your referring to the 3 dot menu which is next to the phone icon. I myself have huge nubby fingers and haven't missfired the menu button. But... that's me :-/
Paul Simbeck-Hampson3 months ago
+Corey M The 3 dot menu is a settings menu, at least that's what I call it. In any case, yep, that's exactly what I'm referring too. Perhaps you just got lucky... perhaps I was just careless... time will tell... for me it seems to close for comfort. But... that's me ;)
Ryan Morgan3 months ago
Why the flying fuck should I care about stickers? Retarded. +1
Paul Simbeck-Hampson3 months ago
+Ryan Morgan But Facebook have nice stickers, so it stands to reason...+1
Erick Wright3 months ago
How about adding the ability to send short video clips like on the IOS counterpart or even sort audio clips
Derek Purdy3 months ago
the new green header colour is so blah... makes me depressed. hah needs to be a nice uplifting green.
Doug Dunfee3 months ago
Glad to see continued progress, thanks +Rhett Robinson and team!
Have to say +Iván Estévez is taking the words out of my mouth. Also, no "confirmation" on sending stickers means I'm less likely to use them as it instantly sends.
Thx!
Have to say +Iván Estévez is taking the words out of my mouth. Also, no "confirmation" on sending stickers means I'm less likely to use them as it instantly sends.
Thx!
Adam Tentis3 months ago
+Rhett Robinson Why is the design / layout of this app still worse than the new Google messenger? The messenger app is so much more fluid and pretty. Please take a note from its UI as well as the great picture,video,voice message implementation. Otherwise hangouts is turning out great.+1
Corey M3 months ago
+Ryan Morgan I don't understand why you think its retarded? How does it affect you?
Derek Purdy3 months ago
more like a huge announcement turned into sticker packs.. a pretty big let down actually.+1
Mike Williams3 months ago
We need the ios team over here.. I wanna swap android hangouts team for ios. +2
Jaap Haitsma3 months ago
+Rhett Robinson I hope you will have more a design like Messenger app in Lollipop. Having just 1 window instead of 3 tabs like Messenger would make the app a lot easier to use and you can have the ability again to swipe away conversations+1
Nirav Patel3 months ago
I'm going to have some fun trolling hangouts .
Vulpes N.3 months ago
I have a much simpler wishlist:
☐ Use names from my address book instead of their G+ profile. WHY is this not an option?
☐ When muting notification, get rid of that ugly red bar telling me that notification is off - an icon should suffice. iOS version got it right, so why is Android version not following suit?
☐ When I use multiple hangout accounts, There's no visual indication that I got message in another account. Again, iOS version does this... so there is NO reason for Android version to suck the way it does.+3
☐ Use names from my address book instead of their G+ profile. WHY is this not an option?
☐ When muting notification, get rid of that ugly red bar telling me that notification is off - an icon should suffice. iOS version got it right, so why is Android version not following suit?
☐ When I use multiple hangout accounts, There's no visual indication that I got message in another account. Again, iOS version does this... so there is NO reason for Android version to suck the way it does.+3
Richard Daw3 months ago
Wow, still no tablet layout. Even GTalk was better on Android 3.0. What's the point of having large screens if 50% of it is whitespace?+1
Gerben van Erkelens3 months ago
Looking sweet again. Still the plus icon should be on the bottom right... Well, I'm looking for it there.
Doug Dunfee3 months ago
Oof, no swiping between sticker pages in main view...+1
Kyle Mechler3 months ago
Can we please have a reasonable experience from a desktop?+1
Greg Miernicki3 months ago
So when is Hangouts going to get the dialer intent so I can use it as the default dialer in other applications? Skype already has this!+1
Chris Sorel3 months ago
ARRRRRRGGGGG!!!! Why does it take so log for these updates to hit my play store! Seems like it takes forever for my phone to see these updates when you make the announcement. I know you announced this one just now but in the past it takes forever. Just venting.
Greg Miernicki3 months ago
+Chris Sorel get it now http://www.apkmirror.com/
Marcus Schwab3 months ago
Wait, did you remove the green icon to say if someone is online in favour of the "last seen"? Why can't we have both? :'(+6
James Buyayo3 months ago
Woohoo, smart suggestions :)
Don Lupo3 months ago
Location tracking is creepy and insecure. #FeatureFail I mean, I know it's done anyway, but this is excessive.
Tony Chan3 months ago
So what happened to the green online status icons in the contact list? Is it being replaced by "Last seen"? Because so far it isn't accurate. I have a friend that is definitely currently active on Hangouts but his "Last seen" timestamp says "yesterday". That's a disappointing feature regression after waiting so long to get the green status icons in the first place.+5
Sandro Tosi3 months ago
the lack of a squirrel icon is disturbing, seriously.
Peter F. Mayer3 months ago
Finally stickers arrive at Android after they have been available on the iPhone for some time. Why don't you leave the crap on iOS and serve Android with something useful? +1
britt amtower3 months ago
how do you get the stickers. I sideloaded the apk,but when you hit the paperclip, there is no option for stickers?
Jure Šuklje3 months ago
I love this update and I love a new look and features. Thank you so much for constantly improving the app, even if sometimes not in the way that people would want. Each improvement is positive and welcome, and I appreciate that. I'm looking forward for what's about to come! PS: I looove stickers! :D
Venkata Dorairaj3 months ago
+Rhett Robinson Could you explain why there was a feature regression? Regarding Video messages. I am not getting any response from +Frank Petterson
https://plus.google.com/110081708242219680330/posts/NxjYEKVqpBm
https://plus.google.com/110081708242219680330/posts/NxjYEKVqpBm
Sean S3 months ago
I didn't know selecting a sticker would send it automatically. There should be a send confirmation. I just accidentally sent someone a BFF sticker exploring the app's new features.+3
Tom Cameron3 months ago
Oh, so it's Facebook now?
Hai Tu3 months ago
The location feature is the best new feature in this update. Thanks. I khow hangouts will be the future. Please put more priority on it.
britt amtower3 months ago
Oh, the stickers only work with other hangout friends. If they don't have or use hangouts you can't use stickers. BUMMER
Jon Martin3 months ago
Sprint Group MMS working yet?
What about MMS or SMS over WiFi Calling on Sprint?
Would be nice if Google could get that right so I can switch to hangouts full time.
What about MMS or SMS over WiFi Calling on Sprint?
Would be nice if Google could get that right so I can switch to hangouts full time.
Richard Pino3 months ago
Still waiting on moderation abilities and to extend the silly 100 person limit...+2
Chris Sorel3 months ago
+Greg Miernicki thanks! Doesn't seem to be uploaded yet. I will keep checking.
David Jeffers3 months ago
Still waiting for it to push to the Nexus 5....
Sean S3 months ago
I just accidentally sent a sticker again. This time I was swiping to browse stickers and I accidentally pressed on a sticker.
Giovanni Monegro3 months ago
Can we please get rights to moderate in hangouts +Rhett Robinson . Who wakes up in the morning and thinks that "stickers" is what we need in hangouts smh.+2
David Jeffers3 months ago
+Giovanni Monegro Moderation is currently in testing for Google Apps subscribers.+1
tomasz graj3 months ago
+ Iván Estévez for sure it will not be for me 64ru lake and it is at the+1
Vat Dirayut3 months ago
hi bb, can u tell what is the name of this program ? i want to use this also
Grant Kemp3 months ago
Would have been lovely to actually have it working nicely in Gmail so when people request hangouts or call it actually rings. Can't you just copy Whatsapp? #onejob
Mike Elek3 months ago
No one needs to know my location. It's none of their business. It's really not any of Google's business either, but apparently it is not possible to block Google from knowing that.
Ibun Kun3 months ago
I would prefer a redesign. Get rid of the contacts list ( don't use the phone number list), let me delete messages (sometimes I write a message to the wrong person because I don't notice the messaging flow).
Alijah Simon3 months ago
Aaand still no fucking tablet app. My fucking god. +1
Peter Dhanaraj3 months ago
+Rhett Robinson Material Design plz! Get rid of that dialer and contacts tab at the top, you don't need them at all. Make a big floating "+" button like Messenger that, when pressed, asks if you want to start a Hangout or call. If Hangout, then go to the contact select screen. If call, go to the dialer. Add in multiple picture and video sending support to Hangouts and for the love of Zod, add SMS integration to phone/tablet/computer like iMessage. +1
Rae Percasky3 months ago
Oh good grief .. more of the unimportant stuff. How about upping the 100 person cap .. and give us the ability to kick ppl from h/o. You may find that its a lot better received that pretty colours and stickers of god knows what+1
David Jeffers3 months ago
+Rae Percasky Those are both features that are already in the works. It's currently in testing for Google Apps users. Stickers and UI redesign is a lot faster to push than those moderation features.
And good luck on upping the 100 person limit cap... I don't for-see that being useful. having more than 30 people in a hangout is already too much to handle. If you have that much going on you might as well use a community instead.+1
And good luck on upping the 100 person limit cap... I don't for-see that being useful. having more than 30 people in a hangout is already too much to handle. If you have that much going on you might as well use a community instead.+1
Luigi Apicella3 months ago
+Rhett Robinson thanks for this great update, enjoying it right now... anyway, any plan to add voice messages and a better contacts list that shows just the contacts registered on Hangouts without the need to check it manually one by one? These are the two main things I miss coming from WhatsApp.+1
Edgar Negrete3 months ago
I can see the stickers on android being cool but non essential. How about a dark theme so we dont burn our eyes middle of the night? Or ability to send video/audio clips so it can finally compete with other messaging systems. Seriously guys hangouts has so much, SO MUCH potential and stickers should not be a priority. And if its for dev time, I think the dark theming should be fairly quick. Then I can happily wait a little longer for the clips.
The SOARing Solution3 months ago
Awesome
yonghee lee3 months ago
popup notification would be great+2
Luke Hutchison3 months ago
+Rhett Robinson IMPORTANT: I hope that the last-seen timestamps can be switched off (by the sender, not the receiver, i.e. I hope people can choose not to broadcast last seen timestamps). Leaking any information about user behavior (including whether a user is online, or whether they have read a message) is a privacy violation. In this case, it not only tells a user when you're online or awake, but enforces a situation where plausible deniability is no longer an excuse for making judgment calls on when or whether to respond.+1
Haran G3 months ago
+Luke Hutchison it'll only say it when ur on the app like wassap smart ass
Peter Falkelind2 months ago
What the hell?
Have you guys updated? I've been checking Play since yesterday and still no update+1
Have you guys updated? I've been checking Play since yesterday and still no update+1
Charlotte Pierce2 months ago
Nope, none here either.
Margaret Leber2 months ago
The stickers are really, really cheesy. One hopes they will be customizable soon, because they're simply too ugly for words. +3
Lee Zhen Hong2 months ago
This is why WhatsApp is still dominating the mobile messaging market share like no tomorrow, and growing stronger every second. WhatsApp you were the chosen one, why you joined the dark side?
Robert Le Blah2 months ago
+Brandon Creek a thousand times what you said. It floors me that Google's own products don't work together. Not for weeks. Not for months. For years while they screw with fluff. Perpetually half baked. I'm tired of being excited about what could be.
James Roberts2 months ago
Since you can't search through your messages in hangouts I will not use it over the default messenger app.
Vignesh Giridharan2 months ago
Can't set my mood anymore. I'd take that over sending silly stickers any day!
Ray Nassar2 months ago
The background color of the middle panel (conversations) is darker, more grey. In contrast to the seemingly white background of the contacts and dialer panels. Also, the tab indicators atop the panels are static. No transition there, no animation. Small details, please address them!
Shadow Blasko2 months ago
Stickers?!? Oh Yay! We won't fix that it uses more RAM than running an Oracle Server on your phone.. but we'll make it look pretty! +2
Victoria Dominowski2 months ago
Still not seeing the update on my Galaxy Note 3... I really want those stickers - they look totally adorable.
Robert Le Blah2 months ago
Oh, sweet god, help me. I was included in a group text conversation initiated by someone else. For the last hour I've been getting incoming text notifications (through my Google Voice number) every 30 seconds. Since I can't see the texts as a group, I have a well over two hundred individual texts from all theses people. I can't respond to them all at once. The conversion makes no sense because I can only see fragments.
Because of the inability to participate, I couldn't send them an F'n sticker if I wanted to . 😠😣😡😬🙇
Because of the inability to participate, I couldn't send them an F'n sticker if I wanted to . 😠😣😡😬🙇
David Jeffers2 months ago
+Robert Le Blah Sorry xD that's not controlled by hangouts at all, you're only hope there is to get ahold of the people in it to take you out of it.
Robert Le Blah2 months ago
+David Jeffers it is to the extent Hangouts / Google Voice can't display or participate in or initiate group texts.
David Jeffers2 months ago
I guess, but why would you want to. Group texts are nothing but annoyance like you said. They just don't have the ability to control like a group hangout with, or a group text through something like GroupMe would.+1
David Jeffers2 months ago
I guess you're right though, group texting is a missing feature that probably should be there.+1
Robert Le Blah2 months ago
+David Jeffers Yeah, I kind of realized the evil potential of long, on going group text conversations. But, 1. It would have been nice to read the conversation (even though unwanted) in a manner that made sense. 2. I could have joined and tools everyone, all at once, to start another conversation and leave me the F out of it! 😈😇
Group texting has a good side. The participants just need to respect the purpose of the conversation, and not carry on for hours, off topic, joking around. That's a big "Just"... 😏+1
Group texting has a good side. The participants just need to respect the purpose of the conversation, and not carry on for hours, off topic, joking around. That's a big "Just"... 😏+1
Peter Falkelind2 months ago
Still no update for me....ignored :)
Clarissa Silva2 months ago
Brad Thompson2 months ago
+Clarissa Silva :)
Victoria Dominowski2 months ago
Still can't see the update! I want those stickers! D:+1
Efrain Orsini Jr2 months ago
When is the rollout complete? I still haven't received the update and I use hangouts all the time. I can't change which number I'm texting from (Google Voice or my Carrier) and I need that feature...
Rich Kessler2 months ago
Am I stupid, where are the updates? App says I'm up to date, i don't see any announced gifs, emojis or location sharing
Patrick Chkaiban2 months ago
It has been 5 days and we still did not receive the update.....WTF is taking so long.
Ho Hong Heng2 months ago
Waiting more than 5 days, poor rollout +Sundar Pichai
Robert Le Blah2 months ago
Don't be too upset if you haven't gotten Google product updates. My N7 (5.0.1) and N4 (5.0.0) are working horribly. Very laggy. N4 becomes unresponsive and must be force restarted a couple times a day. YouTube won't stay connected to Chromecast, causing me to lose control, Chrome beta randomly disappears and when started again has to reload all the tabs. Every app seems to be starting for the first time, every time I switch using recent apps button. N4 keeps disconnecting from Android Wear Sony 3, causing alarm to go off.
There is good reason they roll out stuff slowly. Be careful what you wish for.
There is good reason they roll out stuff slowly. Be careful what you wish for.
David Jeffers2 months ago
Contrary to Roberts experience, I downloaded the signed apk from a mirror service and the new update is working flawlessly on my Nexus 5 on stock lollipop.
David Jeffers2 months ago
+Ho Hong Heng It's device specific. Nexus devices usually first and so forth. They used to just roll put the update and not give these kinds of posts, it's normal for rollouts to take an extended amount of time depending what device you have.
David Jeffers2 months ago
+Patrick Chkaiban It's device specific, the more modded the android version is (like Samsung's version of android) the longer it takes Google's apps to get to it that's the fault of your phone. Not Google. If you want I can a give you a link to force the update manually. But it might be buggy. That's why they do the incremental rollouts with the Nexus devices coming first, nexus devices get update priorities.
David Jeffers2 months ago
+Efrain Orsini Jr the way to do that is to make SMS show up in an SMS only account, like you go into hangout SMS settings, and there is an option to put SMS messages in a specific account or give it it's own account.
Ho Hong Heng2 months ago
+David Jeffers, I'm using KitKat, pure KitKat on moto g, what is the hangout experience if someone got a new version and and the rest is old version, it clearly shown that this hangout app is not fully tested or Google is telling the world that Android is fragmented and difficult to deploy updates.. That my thought
Christian Purefoy2 months ago
hey +Rhett Robinson my tel no is confirmed - but whenever I call people it still says "Unknown Number" ... any idea how I can fix that? It would really help me use the call function a LOT more... cheers
Marco Milone2 months ago
Hey!!! nice but.... Can I add my own (google drive?) folder? I want to put my own meme/monkeyIsland gif!!! Standard stickers don't fit my tastes...! But cool...
David Jeffers2 months ago
+Ho Hong Heng and have you even considered that they dont want to bog down their servers with everybody updating at once?
David Jeffers2 months ago
+Ho Hong Heng I assure you. There is a reason. These guys aren't idiots by any definition. No matter what they do someone will find something to complain about.
Ho Hong Heng2 months ago
+David Jeffers I love Google, that the reason I complain, there are many great messenger such as whatapps, Facebook messenger, wechat, Wire and etc. I can simply made a switch, however, I still believe hangout could be on par with other Google app. Hangouts and Google +, photos are buggy.
Erik Övelius1 month ago