The new "Home" landing tab shows current Hangouts On Air (HOA) and video Hangouts from the people in your circles with headers for each to avoid confusion. HOA and regular Hangouts have been split into two sections on either side of the page, the left side is usually filled up with random strangers sat doing nothing in front of their webcams as well as Minecraft live streams, though every now and again you may find something that will pique your interest. The regular video Hangouts section on the right is the one where you can jump into live Hangout parties with the people you actually know (or the people you don't, but are in your circles).
Upon clicking on Hangouts from the navigation menu (the sidebar on the left), the conversations list will slide out as usual, making the Home hub your almost all-in-one for communication. The Live Parties tab has been renamed to video calls, and the Hangouts On Air tab is still there if you want to filter Hangouts by type.
Aside from the bigger changes we've talked about above, smaller changes can be seen, including the large green image that appears when no-one in your circles is hanging out, and clearer yellow "Live" tags on Hangouts On Air thumbnails.
Apparently even cats love to hangout too |
What do you make of the changes? Join the discussion in the comments!