For Android users running the latest version of Android (KitKat), chances are you use Google Hangouts on a regular basis simply because Google has decided it was a good idea to merge SMS and Google Hangouts into a single app. At the same time, the app also allows Google users to chat with one another.
For iOS users, the use of Google Hangouts could also be just as frequent, and if you’re an avid Google Hangouts users, either for chatting or for video conferencing, you might be interested to learn that an update for the app has been announced.
According to Google’s Frank Petterson, the app has been updated and will now share some of the design language of iOS 7, which Petterson claims is “super easy” to navigate. Apart from the new look and feel of the app, there will be new features introduced to the iOS version along with several improvements.
Some of these changes includes the ability to send other Hangout users stickers, which are essentially animated emoticons. Users will also be able to send video messages to one another, and share their location if someone needs help finding their way to your house or to the restaurant you are at.
The app has also been optimized for the iPad, so tablet users will now be able to look forward to larger video calls as well as a two-pane conversation view that takes advantage of the tablet’s larger display. The app is free for download so if you’d like to check it out, hit up the iTunes App Store for the download.