Google's Hangouts iOS App Says Hello To Voice Calling And Other New Features
October 19, 2013
Google has just released what may be the biggest update yet to its official Hangouts app on iOS.
First and foremost, thanks to the new update, you can now call phone numbers from your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad using the Hangouts app. Note that calls are free within the U.S. and Canada only. Note also that you can now make and receive calls using your Google Voice number.
Apart from voice calling, the latest update to Hangouts also adds support for sending and receiving animated GIFs, which also play inline in the app.
With the newly updated app, you can now also see who among your friends are using Hangouts and who among them can be reached at the moment. The app has also been improved to just temporarily turn down your music, instead of completely stopping it, every time you receive a new message.
The new version of Hangouts is available now in the App Store for free. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad running iOS 6.0 or later.
Launched by Google last May, Hangouts received its first update late last June. That update added support for sending and clicking links, inviting friends to Hangouts via SMS, and in-app sounds for received messages. It was previously updated late last July with support for Hangouts On Air.
[gallery link="file" order="DESC"]