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Google Hangouts For Consumers Will Be Shutting Down Sometime In 2020 (9to5google.com)
According to 9to5Google, Google Hangouts for consumers will be shutting down sometime in 2020. The news shouldn't come as too much of a surprise since Google essentially stopped development on the app more than a year ago. Thankfully, there are plenty of other Google messaging apps available, such as Allo, Duo, and Android Messages. From the report: Last spring, Google announced its pivot for the Hangouts brand to enterprise use cases with Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet, so the writing has been on the wall for quite some time regarding the Hangouts consumer app's demise. Meanwhile, Google has transitioned its consumer-facing messaging efforts to RCS 'Chat' and Android Messages following Allo's misadventures.
As mentioned, Hangouts as a brand will live on with G Suite's Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet, the former intended to be a team communication app comparable to Slack, and the latter a video meetings platform. Meanwhile, Google Voice calling, which was at first independent and then long integrated into Hangouts, was moved back out to its own redesigned app earlier this year. Interestingly, despite its forthcoming axing, Hangouts was one of a few apps to get early support for Android Auto's new MMS and RCS functionality, alongside Android Messages and WhatsApp.
As mentioned, Hangouts as a brand will live on with G Suite's Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet, the former intended to be a team communication app comparable to Slack, and the latter a video meetings platform. Meanwhile, Google Voice calling, which was at first independent and then long integrated into Hangouts, was moved back out to its own redesigned app earlier this year. Interestingly, despite its forthcoming axing, Hangouts was one of a few apps to get early support for Android Auto's new MMS and RCS functionality, alongside Android Messages and WhatsApp.
I use it for people I communicate with regularly because it doesn't matter where I am...laptop, phone, tablet, etc. I can send and receive messages and it doesn't make a difference. SMS in a browser is pretty flaky still, and has a tendency to become detached at inconvenient times, and doesn't always send immediately.
I'm genuinely open to suggestions (I'm an android user, so no Apple only stuff) and Facebook messenger will be one of the last I consider.
First you shoved it down our throats. We liked gtalk. Then you abandon it.
And why as a business would we want to use it??? You stopped development on it over a year ago!!! Itâ(TM)s not good enough for the plebes, so now your paying customers have to use it!?!?
Asshats.
No. I've been using it as my default messaging app since my Google Voice number is my primary number. I can send and reply to text messages from my computer with a full keyboard using the Hangouts Chrome app.
Android Messages doesn't have video chat. Google Allo does, but there is no desktop client.
Hangouts is great. Video, voice and text chat all in one place on mobile and desktop. Nothing else offers that.
Hangouts has some other unique features, like the way it handles group chats. It shows the webcam/avatar of whoever is talking using the volume level of each participant, and it really helps stop people talking over each other.
Damn it Google, why do you kill everything good? None of your other stuff comes close to Hangouts!
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC