It's a great update. No doubt the initial release was frustrating but as with most Google software the continued development pays off in the long run. Performance improved on my Moto X.
I don't believe performance is an issue on newer(even -ish) devices. Anything from like GNexus and before (not just Google's flagship phones - anything with <=1GB RAM) seemed to suffer from poor app performance.
The only time I've seen any real lag within the app on my Nexus 4 is when composing really long messages, about the equivalent of 5 to 6 SMS in the compose box. There seems to be some sort of bug that gets triggered there but other than it works flawlessly.
Unless I'm misreading the article, this is not new - at least not to TMOB S3 users. My wife merged her SMS into Hangouts in December. I let her be the guinea pig and have declined Google's offers to integrate them at each prompt. So far, she's encountered a few bugs with messages not sending at all and duplicate messages being sent, but overall she likes it.
Take a look at the second image; before, Hangouts and SMS chats were separate screens. Now it's a unified chat with a toggle to send text via SMS or Hangouts.
I wonder if automatically sending via Hangouts (or at least the option to) if the recipient is signed in is patented by Apple. Or maybe they're just waiting to creep that in. Or maybe they don't even like that idea. Hmmmmmmmmm.
It's not necessarily a bad thing to do it the way Google currently is with Hangouts. I have some people I know who cannot receive iMessages during certain times of the day due to lack of cellular data and with Apple's messaging app you need to send the message then hold down on it and select send as text. Many times it gets sent over my connection faster than I can tell it to send as a text which results in them getting a text and then the same message later as an iMessage when they get onto WiFi.
Who cares about their crap? I had to replace their shitty SMS app, dialer (what kind of mongoloid came up with the color scheme and design choices for that abomination anyway?), browser and launcher in order to make my Nexus 5 usable.
Alas the browser alternatives are almost as bad as Chrome so I ended up with Firefox, but Contacts+ (dialer, SMS) and Apex Launcher are just awesome.
Its a great idea and a big step for google voice/hangouts, however it is very cumbersome to send MMS via the new messaging system, especially if you have conversations going on with your old google voice number. I have found that 1/2 to 3/4 of the time, the messages won't send on wifi or data network, where as with the stock messaging app I can send MMS via wifi (tmobile)
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15 Comments
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deltatux - Monday, April 21, 2014 - link
Finally lolusama_ah - Monday, April 21, 2014 - link
It's a great update. No doubt the initial release was frustrating but as with most Google software the continued development pays off in the long run. Performance improved on my Moto X.webmastir - Monday, April 21, 2014 - link
I don't believe performance is an issue on newer(even -ish) devices. Anything from like GNexus and before (not just Google's flagship phones - anything with <=1GB RAM) seemed to suffer from poor app performance.cmikeh2 - Tuesday, April 22, 2014 - link
The only time I've seen any real lag within the app on my Nexus 4 is when composing really long messages, about the equivalent of 5 to 6 SMS in the compose box. There seems to be some sort of bug that gets triggered there but other than it works flawlessly.nathanddrews - Tuesday, April 22, 2014 - link
Unless I'm misreading the article, this is not new - at least not to TMOB S3 users. My wife merged her SMS into Hangouts in December. I let her be the guinea pig and have declined Google's offers to integrate them at each prompt. So far, she's encountered a few bugs with messages not sending at all and duplicate messages being sent, but overall she likes it.Ortanon - Tuesday, April 22, 2014 - link
Take a look at the second image; before, Hangouts and SMS chats were separate screens. Now it's a unified chat with a toggle to send text via SMS or Hangouts.rxzlmn - Tuesday, April 22, 2014 - link
The call button is new! There used to be only a video call button. Does it route the call through VoIP or the standard phone app?Ortanon - Tuesday, April 22, 2014 - link
I wonder if automatically sending via Hangouts (or at least the option to) if the recipient is signed in is patented by Apple. Or maybe they're just waiting to creep that in. Or maybe they don't even like that idea. Hmmmmmmmmm.Brandon Chester - Tuesday, April 22, 2014 - link
It's not necessarily a bad thing to do it the way Google currently is with Hangouts. I have some people I know who cannot receive iMessages during certain times of the day due to lack of cellular data and with Apple's messaging app you need to send the message then hold down on it and select send as text. Many times it gets sent over my connection faster than I can tell it to send as a text which results in them getting a text and then the same message later as an iMessage when they get onto WiFi.ellroy80 - Tuesday, April 22, 2014 - link
Waiting for them to merge Hangouts and Voice. Must be close now. Voice is handy but it definitely needs work.Arnulf - Tuesday, April 22, 2014 - link
Who cares about their crap? I had to replace their shitty SMS app, dialer (what kind of mongoloid came up with the color scheme and design choices for that abomination anyway?), browser and launcher in order to make my Nexus 5 usable.Alas the browser alternatives are almost as bad as Chrome so I ended up with Firefox, but Contacts+ (dialer, SMS) and Apex Launcher are just awesome.
caleblloyd - Wednesday, April 23, 2014 - link
I wonder if it's a phased rollout. I don't have the option to upgrade on my 4.4 HTC one yet.darwinosx - Wednesday, April 23, 2014 - link
Requires a Google + account which means I will never use it.sany - Monday, April 28, 2014 - link
I am not sure how to access the home screen widget, under widgets I can't find one that belongs to Hangouts.!??chadbordes - Monday, April 28, 2014 - link
Its a great idea and a big step for google voice/hangouts, however it is very cumbersome to send MMS via the new messaging system, especially if you have conversations going on with your old google voice number. I have found that 1/2 to 3/4 of the time, the messages won't send on wifi or data network, where as with the stock messaging app I can send MMS via wifi (tmobile)