6 ms·

So, is this the death of Hangouts and rebirth of Google Voice then? They had previously been transitioning the UX off of GV and onto Hangouts.

jfoster 10y ago
It's absurd that consumers are left guessing which of Google's services are around for the long-haul and which are doomed. There was a time when success was the default outcome for a new Google product/service. Now it's the opposite, and the crazy thing is that Google did it to themselves.
- jitl 10y ago
  Exactly. Where does this leave Allo? Is GVoice + Allo the intended product combination?
  - jjawssd 10y ago
    Nothing is certain. There is competition among internal Google teams to get the attention of the top execs but there is zero clear vision. Google is a mess. I can't trust it.
    - remir 10y ago
      The question is: what are these top execs thinking?
- saurik 10y ago
  When was this "a time", and did it include more than Mail, Maps, and Docs?
  - jfoster 10y ago
    Yes, it also included Android, Chrome, Analytics, News, Reader.
    - saurik 10y ago
      Ok: I explicitly considered Android and did not consider it a product (though this was probably wrong of me), and I feel like Reader is disqualified as Google decided it failed and killed it when they should have used it as a basis for other projects (the thing they always do :/), but thanks for reminding me of Analytics and Chrome! (Is News successful?!? I always tried to use it and it never really seemed to accomplish anything, and now they seem to be attaching its fate to AMP, which is either going to win so hard they end up taking control of the entire Internet, or is going to finally kill it...)
- hendersoon 10y ago
  Google needs to focus on the products and services their customers love. Google Reader is the best example of this. People LOVED it. It was even a successful social network!
- pbhjpbhj 10y ago
  Was that a move from adoption to profit as the metric for success. Now they 'have' to maximise profit and search for the maximal mode of doing so, previously they were content to create useful apps?
JshWright 10y ago
As a Project Fi user, that makes heavy use of Hangouts, I sure hope not (as Voice and Fi are incompatible).
- mynameisvlad 10y ago
  Who knows, maybe the Voice improvements over the coming months includes Fi compatibiltiy?
JoshGlazebrook 10y ago
So is Hangouts the new Google Voice? The focus shifted from Google Voice to Hangouts (it receiving MMS, etc), and now it's shifted back to Voice? Why can't they just combine it all into a single app and be done with it.

jfoster 10y ago

It's absurd that consumers are left guessing which of Google's services are around for the long-haul and which are doomed. There was a time when success was the default outcome for a new Google product/service. Now it's the opposite, and the crazy thing is that Google did it to themselves.

jitl 10y ago
Exactly. Where does this leave Allo? Is GVoice + Allo the intended product combination?
- jjawssd 10y ago
  Nothing is certain. There is competition among internal Google teams to get the attention of the top execs but there is zero clear vision. Google is a mess. I can't trust it.
  - remir 10y ago
    The question is: what are these top execs thinking?
saurik 10y ago
When was this "a time", and did it include more than Mail, Maps, and Docs?
- jfoster 10y ago
  Yes, it also included Android, Chrome, Analytics, News, Reader.
  - saurik 10y ago
    Ok: I explicitly considered Android and did not consider it a product (though this was probably wrong of me), and I feel like Reader is disqualified as Google decided it failed and killed it when they should have used it as a basis for other projects (the thing they always do :/), but thanks for reminding me of Analytics and Chrome! (Is News successful?!? I always tried to use it and it never really seemed to accomplish anything, and now they seem to be attaching its fate to AMP, which is either going to win so hard they end up taking control of the entire Internet, or is going to finally kill it...)
hendersoon 10y ago
Google needs to focus on the products and services their customers love. Google Reader is the best example of this. People LOVED it. It was even a successful social network!
pbhjpbhj 10y ago
Was that a move from adoption to profit as the metric for success. Now they 'have' to maximise profit and search for the maximal mode of doing so, previously they were content to create useful apps?

JshWright 10y ago

As a Project Fi user, that makes heavy use of Hangouts, I sure hope not (as Voice and Fi are incompatible).

mynameisvlad 10y ago
Who knows, maybe the Voice improvements over the coming months includes Fi compatibiltiy?

JoshGlazebrook 10y ago

So is Hangouts the new Google Voice? The focus shifted from Google Voice to Hangouts (it receiving MMS, etc), and now it's shifted back to Voice? Why can't they just combine it all into a single app and be done with it.