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Originally Hangouts looked Google's answer to Apple's iMessage. You could send and receive messages via Hangouts or SMS within the same Android app. You could u

Originally Hangouts looked Google's answer to Apple's iMessage. You could send and receive messages via Hangouts or SMS within the same Android app. You could use Hangouts on your computer via Gmail or a standalone app. Then a few years ago they started pushing you to use SMS from a separate app, and eventually removed SMS functionality from the Hangouts Android app altogether. Then they launched Allo and pushed it for consumers, but from all accounts it flopped miserably. Now they're apparently going to push an evolution of SMS (RCS) as their consumer chat product. I'm wonder how they plan to integrate that on desktop. Personal anecdote: My wife and I have kept using Hangouts to communicate with each other out of inertia. On Android it's seemed stagnant for ages, but it's simple and works reliably. For family and friends we're using a mix of SMS and Facebook Messenger due to their preferences. Both of those are annoying, although in different ways. I suppose if consumer Hangouts dies we'll have to look at Whatsapp, Signal, etc. and see what's best.

lowercased 8y ago
> On Android it's seemed stagnant for ages, but it's simple and works reliably. "stagnant" implies it should be changing, but then you say "it works reliably". No changes for a year is 'rock solid' and 'stable', not 'needs an iteration push next month!'.
- sciurus 8y ago
  It works reliably, but there's room for improvement. Two examples: Video call quality is noticably worse than Google Duo. Unlike SMS, Google Assistant can't read my Hangouts messages to me.
  - jdofaz 8y ago
    Hangouts worked in Android Auto voice assistant until recently. I don’t know if that was the same as the regular assistant
  - lowercased 8y ago
    I realized there's a middle ground, of course, after posting. I'm not a regular android user, but understand the 'room for improvement' line of thought for software in general. However, given how much things generally go downhill when new versions are released, 'improvements' in a real sense are often hard to come by. Often, I much prefer my stagnant releases vs watching features I use go away, or UI changes hide my normal workflows in 'upgrades'.
shaklee3 8y ago
That's not true. Hangouts for Android has always been able to do sms, even today.
- sciurus 8y ago
  Nope, they removed SMS from Hangouts in 2017 unless you're in the minority using Project Fi or Google Voice. https://www.androidpolice.com/2017/05/22/sms-support-hangouts-officially-ends-today-excluding-project-fi-subscribers/ https://www.androidpolice.com/2017/05/22/sms-support-hangout... https://support.google.com/hangouts/answer/3441321?hl=en https://support.google.com/hangouts/answer/3441321?hl=en
  - shaklee3 8y ago
    That is not the minority. I've been using hangouts with a google voice number for over 5 years, and SMS still works fine. Most of the benefits from hangouts come from using a google voice number anyways (VoIP calls, SMS over IP), so it's definitely not the minority.
    - sciurus 8y ago
      To be clear, I mean you're in the minority of Android users. Since 2017 most Android users can't send SMS through Hangouts.
      - shaklee3 8y ago
        I see what you mean. That definitely makes sense since it was discontinued :).

lowercased 8y ago

> On Android it's seemed stagnant for ages, but it's simple and works reliably. "stagnant" implies it should be changing, but then you say "it works reliably". No changes for a year is 'rock solid' and 'stable', not 'needs an iteration push next month!'.

sciurus 8y ago
It works reliably, but there's room for improvement. Two examples: Video call quality is noticably worse than Google Duo. Unlike SMS, Google Assistant can't read my Hangouts messages to me.
- jdofaz 8y ago
  Hangouts worked in Android Auto voice assistant until recently. I don’t know if that was the same as the regular assistant
- lowercased 8y ago
  I realized there's a middle ground, of course, after posting. I'm not a regular android user, but understand the 'room for improvement' line of thought for software in general. However, given how much things generally go downhill when new versions are released, 'improvements' in a real sense are often hard to come by. Often, I much prefer my stagnant releases vs watching features I use go away, or UI changes hide my normal workflows in 'upgrades'.

shaklee3 8y ago

That's not true. Hangouts for Android has always been able to do sms, even today.

sciurus 8y ago
Nope, they removed SMS from Hangouts in 2017 unless you're in the minority using Project Fi or Google Voice. https://www.androidpolice.com/2017/05/22/sms-support-hangouts-officially-ends-today-excluding-project-fi-subscribers/ https://www.androidpolice.com/2017/05/22/sms-support-hangout... https://support.google.com/hangouts/answer/3441321?hl=en https://support.google.com/hangouts/answer/3441321?hl=en
- shaklee3 8y ago
  That is not the minority. I've been using hangouts with a google voice number for over 5 years, and SMS still works fine. Most of the benefits from hangouts come from using a google voice number anyways (VoIP calls, SMS over IP), so it's definitely not the minority.
  - sciurus 8y ago
    To be clear, I mean you're in the minority of Android users. Since 2017 most Android users can't send SMS through Hangouts.
    - shaklee3 8y ago
      I see what you mean. That definitely makes sense since it was discontinued :).