Hangouts 8.0 Supports Bundled Notifications, Direct Reply for Android N Users

Made the switch to Android N and use Hangouts a lot? You'll be pleased with this update...

Hangouts, once touted as the messaging app to rule them all, hasn't been receiving much of the attention as it once had. Google themselves has even encouraged users to install Google Messenger for their SMS and MMS needs. Sure, it’s got the right Material Design UI (which for a long time it didn’t) and in the previous 7.0 release, it finally received Quick Reply.

Nevertheless, Hangouts has been receiving the occasional bump in its version number. Let’s dive in and see what version 8.0 contains!

Bundled Notifications Support and Direct Reply

As you know, Google decided to release a preview version of the upcoming Android version, codenamed N (for Nutella? Or Nougat? We’ll soon enough find out... ;)) a few months earlier than usual, so that by the time the final version is ready, app developers and OEM would’ve had enough time to implement the new features in their apps.

Google Slides Integrates Hangouts Video Calls

Can't meet up before an upcoming presentation, or presenting to an audience on the other side of the world? Don't worry, Slides and Hangouts has got you covered.

This week's useful update brings Hangouts video call support to Google Slides, so whenever you want to rehearse with your team before the big day, or are presenting to a group of people but can't be there in person, just tap present at the top of your Android phone or tablet, then the name of the Hangout you want to show it to. You can go through your whole presentation, see your speaker notes, and go through your timings, so all of you can wow your audience, even if you're on different continents!

I honestly can't see myself using this feature a lot, since it's just as easy and convenient to share the presentation to the rest of your group members by email or link - especially if your internet connection's on the slow side (like me...) - and I've never found myself needing to give a presentation with prospective clients remotely, but it's great to have this option nonetheless.

New and improved Hangouts invitation settings rolling out

Hangouts is the best way to chat with your friends cross-platform. Don't argue with me; that's not how this works. I can say whatever I want and you can't stop me. Now where were we?

Oh, yes... Hangouts is the undisputed champion of the chat world. It's about to get even better as we start getting details about the next version(s). Above, you can see Hangouts on the web (left) has caught up to the Android app (right). This shows Google is putting in the time to make sure their number one chat app stays on top. For the full skinny on this fresh set of chat controls and how to make sure your phone number is verified, keep reading!

Hangouts for iOS bumped to 4.1

Can you believe we're having this conversation again? So soon after iOS scored the new 4.0 makeover, now it appears Android users are getting another jab to the pride.

All joking and silly Photoshopping aside, this is getting a tad ridiculous. Don't you think? The originally promised "soon" timeframe is getting longer by the day for those stuck with Hangouts 3.3 on Android. I'm confident I'm not the only one who wants more information on how long the wait will be.

Luckily for me, it's a "simple" update. Let's jump in, shall we?

Hangouts 4.0 Lands on the iOS App Store

Who loves new app features more than me? Oh, really? Want to fight about it? OK; agree to disagree. Which makes this all the more disappointing when my girlfriend was rubbing in my face that her iPhone 6 has the freshest Hangouts update and my Nexus 5 doesn't. She says that her Apple devices always get the latest version and "that's how it is."

I considered fighting her over it, but my better judgement told me not to. My research into the update history confirmed that she's (of course) right. You might remember about a year ago the iOS version of Hangouts got an awesome set of new features that Android didn't. Well, the trend continues for this round of updates for Google's chat app that is supposed to bring the platforms together. Google's got a game plan they're not telling us and we need to get to the bottom of it. To the Bat Cave! ;-)

So what's really to fuss about in this update? I'm glad you asked. Just for you, the nitty gritty details are below!

Material Hangouts Update Rolling Out Now

A beautiful material update to the Hangouts Chrome App is rolling out now.

This new design to the Hangouts Chrome App brings along a new option to switch between the 'Transparent UI' and 'Single-window UI' which should please some users.

The new setting

Toggling the option switches between the floating 'chat heads' we all know and love to a new single-window design. This is great news particularly for users of OS X and Linux as the transparent UI was far from perfect on these platforms. 

Minor visual changes to Hangouts on the web

Some minor changes to timestamps are rolling out to Hangouts on the web.

Previously, timestamps on Hangouts were displayed within a message. The latest change to Hangouts on the web brings them outside for a more streamlined look to messages, and is following the trend that the most recent version of the Google+ Android app has started.

The Android app currently still uses the old styling

Whereas the web has a new implementation

Google+ 5.4 for Android is using similar styling to post actions

New sketching fun for non-mobile Hangouts

Get ready to draw funny pictures on your friend's faces! Actually, that's just scratching the surface of what you can do with the new addition to Hangouts on the web. It's a subtle change, but chances are you'll already have the ability to do this as you read this article.

Hangouts for Android adds custom notification tones and SMS blocking features

Hangouts v2.1.224 for Android introduces custom ringtone support, SMS blocking features and a smattering of other changes. 

We all have that one contact you love to message because their reply causes a noise that makes you smile. Mine might be a little sillier than yours, but I digress. This isn't just your average "minor bug fix" update to Google's Hangouts; it's the one that allows you to customize what sounds play depending on who's on the other end!

On the surface, you might not see many changes in this latest Hangouts update. Trust me, they're there! Under the surface of the user interface, there are some subtle changes here and there. The big ones tip off a closing distance between your SMS needs and the data driven communications. Let's dive into all the new stuff to enjoy!

[New app] Draw for Google+ Hangouts

Remember that time when someone fell asleep at a party and you wrote on their face? Now you can do it all again (but hopefully sober) with a new Hangout app appropriately named "Draw"!

Awesome creative apps are added to Google+ Hangouts all the time, and here's just another addition that looks to be extremely fun when hanging out with a couple of friends or family. For those of you in the loop, you'll know that Draw has been in the testing phase for the past few months.

Hangouts 2.1 for Android merges conversations but further fragments the platform

Photo courtesy of Mike Dodd

The wait is finally over. Sort of. Mike Dodd on the Android development team just announced that the Hangouts app for Android will be getting an update this week, partially catching up to the update iOS received just under two months ago.

The Hangouts team is slowly rolling out version 2.1 of their app for Android. With the new update, there are quite a few changes coming that users have requested and some for which they will continue to wait. 

What's new?

The most important change is the introduction of merged conversations, giving you the ability to see SMS and Hangouts messages with a contact in the same window and switch between them with a tap. If you’d still like to keep them in separate threads (as per the previous version) you can turn it off in the settings.

[Quick Tip] Access the chat history for Google+ Hangouts

Have you wanted to quickly find some information from a previous Hangout chat conversation, but didn't feeling like scrolling up for a long time through all of the messages? Here's a time saver we think you'll appreciate:

There are two ways to access your Hangout message history. Because we're nice, we'll show you how to access your history both ways!