Droid Life

Tag: Hangouts

  • Classic Hangouts Gets a Slow Death Start Date

    Classic Hangouts Gets a Slow Death Start Date

    Remember the report at the end of last year that described the eventual death of Hangouts, the one that caused the Hangouts boss at Google to throw a bit of a Twitter fit? And then remember when Google followed up to confirm the general theme of that report, that yes, Hangouts would eventually die and people who be able to move over to the newer Hangouts Chat? Today, the company behind Hangouts has given us some beginning-of-the-end dates to mark on the calendar.

    Here’s what you need to know. Hangouts (which Google refers to now as “classic” Hangouts) will begin a retirement phase in October 2019 for G Suite customers. Most of you are not G Suite customers and that date won’t affect your use of classic Hangouts. G Suite customers are those who pay Google for corporate-esque access to their services. If you access Gmail with a @gmail.com address, you aren’t a G Suite customer.

    For consumer users (most of you) of classic Hangouts, Google doesn’t have a beginning-of-the-end date to share at this moment. Just know that you won’t need to think about switching over to Hangouts Chat until G Suite users have. My guess is that that’ll happen in 2020. Google plans to share a date with us later on.

    For G Suite users worried about October coming up quickly and wondering if Google is ever going to make Hangouts Chat a good app, we have additional news there. Google plans to begin implementing features from classic Hangouts into Hangouts Chat between April and September 2019.

    What are those features? Specifically, you’ll see the following move over to Hangouts Chat before the October 2019 shutdown:

    • Integration with Gmail
    • Chatting with external users
    • An improved video calling experience
    • Making calls with Google Voice

    To recap, classic Hangouts will begin to retire in October of this year for G Suite customers. Before that happens and Google forces G Suite users from classic to Hangouts Chat, they’ll add a handful of features that are necessary. For most classic Hangouts consumer users, you probably have another year before you need to worry about whether or not you’ll need to ditch Hangouts for something new or prepare to switch to Chat.

    // G Suite Updates

  • Google Lays Out Messaging Plans, Including the Fate of Allo and Hangouts

    Google Lays Out Messaging Plans, Including the Fate of Allo and Hangouts

    After a couple of new reports attempted to share Google’s timeline for shuffling around its messaging apps, possibly killing a couple of them, the company decided to explain their plans in their own words. In a way, this should provide some clarity on the current state of Google’s messaging app ecosystem and which apps you’ll want to pay the most attention to.

    Hangouts

    Hangouts, which is the consumer messaging app you may have adopted years ago and is attached to your Google account, is going to die at some point down the road. We don’t know when, but a report previously stated that you have 2019 and then it might die by 2020.

    Google didn’t dispute this in any of their clarifications, only acknowledging that they’ll soon offer Hangouts users the chance to use Hangouts Chat, which is currently only available to G Suite customers as more of a collaboration tool. Before it’s fully offered up to Hangouts users, it’ll first open up an opportunity for G Suite users to invite people outside of their organizations.

    For now, Hangouts is alive and as buggy as ever, with no plans for that to change just yet. Should Google decide to change Hangouts’ fate, Hangouts users should be able to make use of Hangouts Chat.

    Allo

    The other report I referenced at the start of this involved Allo, Google’s never-popular-because-it-had-major-flaws messaging app. It is indeed dying pretty soon.

    As we talked about earlier, Allo stopped getting attention from Google back in April as the team was pulled off of its development and put onto Android Messages. Today, Google is confirming that in March 2019, Allo will no longer work.

    If you are using Allo, you need to find something new pretty quickly. If you want to save any of your Allo conversations, you can export them through these instructions. Allo is officially RIP.

    Android Messages and Duo

    If you are planning to stick with Google for your messaging and video calling needs, they want you on Android Messages and Duo. Those are the two that will get the most investment on a consumer front going forward. Messages is getting or has gotten most of Allo’s best features and will continue to see major development. It’ll someday bring powerful RCS messaging services to most of us. Duo also keeps getting better by the month.

    All clear now?

    Google Play Links: Messages | Duo

    // Google

  • Report: Google Hangouts Dies in 2020 (Updated: Well, Sort Of)

    Report: Google Hangouts Dies in 2020 (Updated: Well, Sort Of)

    Google likes screwing with our lives by killing apps we use each and every day. Think Inbox and Google Reader, those types of apps. Google pushes them as the next great thing, a number of us move everything we do over to them, and then Google sunsets them at the worst possible time. It sucks and we try to make the best of it, but I’m not sure I’m ready for the death of one in particular: Hangouts.

    According to a report from 9to5Google, Google plans to shut down Hangouts in 2020. F*ck. That gives you at least a year to continue using Google’s green leaky tank of old buginess before deciding which app you’ll switch your messaging world to.

    The report cites a source “familiar with the product’s internal roadmap,” and nothing has been made official by Google. But look, Hangouts for consumers basically got the axe back in October 2016 when Google stopped forcing companies to bundle it with devices. They then cut out SMS from it, stopped introducing any new features, and began pushing an enterprise version called Hangouts Chat, that I’m sure 6 people use.

    Hangouts was replaced on the consumer side by Allo, which is already dead. Now, Google probably wants everyone to jump over to Android Messages, their default text app, to get ready for RCS should that ever arrive widely. Maybe by 2020 it will?

    For me, I’m not sure what the hell I’m going to do. Hangouts works for me because I’ve used it since the day it was introduced, had my family adopt it, and am not sure a comparable alternative exists.

    You ready for Hangouts to join our friend Inbox?

    Update #2: A Google spokesperson reached out with the following statement, essentially confirming that one day in the future, classic Hangouts will indeed go away, but not until all users have been successfully migrated over to either Hangouts Chat or Hangouts Meet. There is no timeframe for this, but some day it will happen.

    In March 2017, we announced plans to evolve classic Hangouts to focus on two experiences that help bring teams together: Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet. Both Chat and Meet are available today for G Suite customers and will be made available for consumer users, too. We have not announced an official timeline for transitioning users from classic Hangouts to Chat and Meet. We are fully committed to supporting classic Hangouts users until everyone is successfully migrated to Chat and Meet.”

    UPDATE: Google Hangouts boss Scott Johnston responded to this report, calling it “shoddy reporting,” which seems unnecessarily harsh. He then tried to explain that thought, suggesting that if anything, current Hangouts consumer (“classic”) users will be “migrated” over to Hangouts Chat and Meet. He did basically confirm that the classic Hangouts will go away at some point, though, so yeah.

    // 9to5Google

  • Ugh, Let’s Talk About Google and RCS and “Chat” and the Death of Allo and…Ugh

    Ugh, Let’s Talk About Google and RCS and “Chat” and the Death of Allo and…Ugh

    It’s Thursday evening, I’ve got a cold glass of sake in hand, the Blazers are getting just got torched, and I’m nursing a stuffy nose, all while awaiting J. Cole’s new album, and The Verge drops the most frustrating Google-related messaging story on us I’ve read in some time. And I’m not talking about their reporting, which is pleasantly detailed and a great explainer. No, I’m just talking about Google and messaging and the fact that every time you mention those two things together, along with the word “new,” that I just instantly get a headache before I bang my head against a wall.

    So yeah, let’s talk about tonight’s big report and how I’m interpreting it all after following this saga, including Google’s RCS push, for the past few years.

    2 Big Bits of Info

    To get off to a clean start, we should establish the two big bits of info that The Verge revealed tonight. Those are:

    1. Google has apparently (finally) convinced 50 or so carriers and a dozen phone makers across the globe that RCS (rich communication services) messaging is the future. All of these partners have apparently signed on to a branding of RCS as “Chat,” which isn’t an app, but a name for RCS as a group of services. Holy f*ck, that is the most ridiculous sentence ever written…hang with me, though.
    2. Allo is basically dead. That’s fine because no one uses Allo, even if it has some sweet features and potential. Google is pulling the team behind it and moving them over to make sure RCS and “Chat” are adopted as quickly as possible.

    OK, we all clear on the two big pieces of info? I hope so, because we are going to try and break this all down.

    RCS vs. “Chat”

    According to tonight’s report, Google has everyone that matters outside of Apple ready to adopt RCS and its Universal Profile. Universal Profile, for those not familiar, is a standard set of features and technical specs for the adoption and deployment of RCS from carriers and phone makers. At some point within the past couple of years, everyone in wireless you care about signed up to be a part of Universal Profile, including Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, LG, Samsung, HTC, Lenovo, Huawei, ASUS, etc. You can see the list of partners here. Not sure what RCS is? You can read about it’s features here. Just know that it’s advanced messaging and is waaaaaay better than your typical SMS and much like Apple’s iMessage.

    To be clear, the Universal Profile and its partners is not actually new info. We wrote about it in March when T-Mobile said they were ready to deploy RCS Universal Profile on their network. What’s new tonight is the fact that Google and its friends have come up with a name for it that isn’t RCS Universal Profile. Instead, they’ll call it “Chat,” which is dumb as hell.

    Why is it dumb as hell? Because it’s not a universal app that we’ll all use. Chat is simply RCS Universal Profile with a catchier name. It doesn’t actually mean anything. I’m not actually sure anyone will ever market Chat or talk about it in any sense, other than when referring to RCS. Google isn’t launching an app called Chat. Nor is Samsung or LG or Verizon or AT&T. Instead, they’ll all just adopt Chat services within other messaging apps (like Android Messages or Samsung’s Messages app), which is the adoption of RCS Universal Profile that they all already agreed to adopt anyway.

    Is this making sense?

    When will you get Chat?

    Google doesn’t really know. Wait, so how does that change from the past 2 years worth of RCS pushing by Google? There really isn’t a change at all other than Google seems to think they are closer than ever to having everyone on board with Universal Profile. Then again, tonight’s report is pretty clear that Verizon and AT&T weren’t up for commenting, even if they are a part of the group. So for you and I in the US, we already have Sprint with live RCS and T-Mobile hoping to launch it soon, but the two biggest carriers remain silent with their own plans.

    Google’s Anil Sabharwal, who has moved over from Google Photos to make Chat an actual thing, told The Verge that, “By the end of this year, we’ll be in a really great state, and by mid-next year, we’ll be in a place where a large percentage of users [will have] this experience.” He said that this isn’t a 3-5 year play and that they really want everyone to support Chat “within the next couple of years.”

    I promise I’m not trying to be the downer of all downers, but Google started this RCS push in 2016, so we’re already 2 years in. Another 2 years before we have a decent adoption? Man.

    Does it work with iMessage?

    Ummm, probably like it does now, as far as I know. Apple wouldn’t comment on adopting Chat either, though there is some hope they could some day. That basically means that Apple controls iMessage and everyone else will be on Chat/RCS messaging. There will still be issues, just maybe not as bad? Hopefully?

    Chat and RCS perform similarly to iMessage in that they first attempt to send an advanced message to a recipient. If that recipient can’t receive the RCS/Chat message, it’ll revert back to good ol’ SMS. In a perfect world, we’ll all be on RCS, including those with iPhones. I’m sure Apple could pretty easily get in on this action and build-in RCS support to iMessage, but this is Apple and they are a bunch of dicks who like closed ecosystems and don’t like to party with others.

    Why didn’t Google just build it’s own iMessage?

    This is probably the most frustrating part of it all. According to The Verge, Google thought about it. They thought long and hard about building just what we’ve all asked for and possibly threatened carriers with that very notion. But in the end, the carriers and partners (likely) caved into supporting RCS Universal Profile and so here we are. Instead of Google saying, “F*ck it” and doing it themselves, they stuck with this, “We’re so open, brah,” thing and worked together.

    And that’s probably fine! That’s fine as long as Verizon and AT&T show up on time, with gift in hand, possibly a couple of drinks deep, and ready to dance that RCS dance.

    So what’s next?

    This might be the most boring launch ever, on par with Gigabit LTE. This will happen and you may or may not know it. I say that because your carrier will have to adopt Chat services. The phone you own, yep, it’ll have to support Chat services. You might already own one that does, but that’s part of the deal. You need to be on a carrier that supports it, with a phone whose messaging app does too.

    Android Messages will be ready for Chat when your carrier fires it up. As I already said, Sprint is live and T-Mobile will be soon. The big story will be when Verizon and AT&T turn on RCS Universal Profile and (hopefully) don’t limit it to two Samsung phones and their own proprietary garbage messaging apps.

    If Google is right, this could all happen fairly quickly throughout the rest of 2018 and into mid-2019. That’s not actually that far away if you think about it. Before you know it, you could be sending advanced messages to friends and family that own Android phones. In due time, that could also mean that your iPhone friends are the minority and Chat is king. OK, maybe not in the US, but elsewhere in the world that will likely happen.

    Allo is really dead?

    No, not dead dead. The six people who use it will still get to use it. But like Hangouts, it’s doubtful that Google will build out new features for it. I’m sure they will squash bugs and make sure it runs OK, just don’t expect Allo to ever be the future of Google’s messaging ambitions again.

    The new features will move into Android Messages, like built-in Google Assistant and better connectivity with Photos or GIFs or Stickers. Android Messages, which is already a really nice SMS app, will keep getting better and better.

    Oh, want to see something cool?

    Here is Android Messages’ web client, which has now been confirmed, thanks to a photo posted by The Verge. Yep, the Android Messages web portal is coming!

    android messages web

    And so I think that’s it. Your takeaway should be that Google thinks it finally has carriers and phone makers on board to push out RCS Universal Profile which they have dubbed “Chat.” As that rolls out through your carrier, you will have advanced messaging and can ditch Allo and Hangouts if you want. It’ll be like having iMessage features (better group chat, high-res images, read receipts, etc.) on an Android phone, only it probably still won’t play that nicely with iMessage.

    We’ll do our best to let you know when your carrier fires up Chat.

    // The Verge [2]

  • Hangouts Chat Out of Beta and Available to G Suite Users

    Hangouts Chat Out of Beta and Available to G Suite Users

    Almost a year ago today, Google announced its new vision for Hangouts. It would break Hangouts apart into two apps – Meet and Chat – while adding advanced features to them. Meet was available pretty quickly to most, but Hangouts Chat has only been in beta or as a part of an Early Access Program. Today, Hangouts Chat leaves that EAP and will be available to all G Suite users as a core application.

    What’s different about Hangouts Chat? While we have yet to use it (don’t worry, we will use it soon), you’ll see a fair amount of people compare it to Slack. Hangouts Chat is Google’s take on the modern project management, group messaging application. You can chat with everyone in your organization, make groups, and that sort of thing, of course, but the app includes integrations from other apps too. You’ll be able to work with Drive applications easily within chats, there are bots in chats to help you set meetings and find files, and companies like Kayak, Vonage, Uberconference, Freshdesk, and others have all setup shop within Chat.

    In order to get Hangouts Chat, you’ll need your G Suite admin to turn it on for everyone. Once that happens, you can hit up the link below to install Android, iOS, and desktop apps.

    Google says that it should be available to everyone over the next 7 days.

    Hangouts Chat Link

    // Google | G Suite Blog

  • Monday Poll: Which Messaging Service Do You Use the Most?

    Monday Poll: Which Messaging Service Do You Use the Most?

    The last time we asked which instant messaging app you all were using, it was 2011 and Google Talk was still a thing. Not only that, but Google+ Huddles was in before Hangouts took over, Beejive was an app that people used, and most of you just settled for good ol’ SMS anyway. So let’s see where we all stand now.

    I’m still stuck on the empty soul that is Hangouts, unfortunately, but apps like Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger sure seem like they are in control of the game at this point. Plus, apps like Kik and Telegram have millions of users, and Allo is doing its best to fill up the feature list without addressing critical flaws. There are some solid options, I’m just curious which has captured your attention.

    Which instant messaging app on Android are you using the most?

    [poll id=”465″]

  • Reminder: Hangouts SMS Died Yesterday for Most

    Reminder: Hangouts SMS Died Yesterday for Most

    If you were using Google Hangouts as your SMS app and aren’t a Project Fi or Google Voice user, then yesterday was supposed to be your last day to find something else to use. Remember, SMS in Hangouts was supposed to die by May 22. Today is May 23.

    We haven’t seen a flood of emails into our inbox with people freaking out, so it’s tough to tell if that means most of you already ditched SMS in Hangouts for something else or it’s still working. Either way, all of Google’s documentation on SMS disappearing from Hangouts is still live and we fully expect that to have happened as late as yesterday. My wife, for example, was pushed onto another SMS app weeks ago.  (more…)

  • Facebook Messenger Now Has Live Location, Just Like Google Maps

    Facebook Messenger Now Has Live Location, Just Like Google Maps

    In a recent update for Google Maps, users gained the ability to share a live location. In an update for Facebook Messenger, that same feature is now available.  (more…)