No BBM for Android, but Hangouts v1.2 is here

Hangouts v1.2 is rolling out over the next few days with notable improvements such as reachable/unreachable statuses, increased visibility of Hangout invites and more.

BBM for Android still isn't here, but v1.2 of Hangouts is currently rolling out over the next few days on Google Play with a few new features to boot.

Thinking about messaging or video calling someone but not sure that they're available? Thanks to the latest Hangouts update for Android, you'll either see a green or grey icon affixed to the right of that contact's name so you can easily see if they're available or not, all in a glance.

See who's reachable in a glance thanks to the new green/grey icons

Browsing contacts has gotten a whole deal easier now, thanks to several category additions on the New Hangouts screen:  'People you Hangout with’, 'Suggested People', and 'Other Contacts'.

With previous versions of Hangouts, you'd be left in the cold in regards to receiving Hangouts requests, due to the lack of any notification. Instead, you would have to manually check the option hidden away in the menu, that's if you remembered. Thankfully, invites are now located above your conversations so you'll never miss a moment again! Possibly my favourite improvement of the bunch...

If you're sick of seeing a specific contact's mug on the New Hangout screen, v1.2 of Hangouts allows you to hide contacts from the screen by pressing and holding on a contact and selecting 'Hide contact'. Pretty nifty.

The improvements in v1.2 of Google's messaging service are a response to user feedback, so we should be seeing a lot of happy faces in reaction to the announcement.

Check out the embedded announcement post by +Randall Sarafa below:

You know it's going to be a good day when there's plenty of updates to look forward to...

What's your favourite new feature in Hangouts? Join in on the discussion below!

Image source: +Randall Sarafa