Google have updated the Hangouts app to bring some new features, as well as some minor performance improvements.
Though the change log at the Google Play listing doesn’t mention much, a Google Employee shared a more detailed changelog at his Google+ page.
Here is what it said:
- Merged conversations: SMS and Hangout conversations with the same recipient are now combined into a single conversation. You can control whether you want to send a message via Hangouts or SMS with the flip of a switch, and different message types will be easy to tell apart in the conversation. Of course, you can always merge and unmerge conversations if you’d like.
- Simplified contact list: now there’s two main sections in contacts — People you Hangout With, and Phone Contacts — making it simpler to navigate, and easier to use for SMS.
- Homescreen widget: add the Hangouts widget to your homescreen for quick access to your recent conversations.
- Performance improvements: today’s update includes better quality video calls, as well as improved SMS and MMS reliability.
The 2.1 update will start rolling out this week, but if can’t wait for that, you can get the APK below to install it right now.
Download Google Hangouts v2.1
File name: com.google.android.talk-2.1.075 (1123407-30)
MD5 Checksum: f382cbe3ac62706e467486e273480a2f.
Just download the APK, and install it as you would any other app. It is an offical version signed by Google, and should update your existing Hangouts app.
via: Android Police and Mike Dodd
