Updates to our Google Voice apps

#1

Post by scommab » Mon, Jan 23, 2017, 5:34 PM UTC

Updates to our Google Voice apps
blog.google

Re: Updates to our Google Voice apps

#2

Post by mynameisvlad » Mon, Jan 23, 2017, 5:42 PM UTC

So, is this the death of Hangouts and rebirth of Google Voice then? They had previously been transitioning the UX off of GV and onto Hangouts.

Re: Updates to our Google Voice apps

#3

Post by akhilcacharya » Mon, Jan 23, 2017, 5:42 PM UTC

> If you currently use Hangouts for your Google Voice communication, there’s no need to change to the new apps, but you might want to try them out as we continue to bring new improvements.

Oh dear. And here I thought that Voice was just abandoned.

Re: Updates to our Google Voice apps

#4

Post by abrodersen » Mon, Jan 23, 2017, 5:44 PM UTC

There has always been a lot of uncertainty over the future of Google Voice, given the lack of updates. While this does give reassurance that the project is still alive, it puts another nail in the Hangouts coffin. It was widely assumed Hangouts would subsume Google Voice, but now that looks very unlikely.

Re: Updates to our Google Voice apps

#5

Post by CPLX » Mon, Jan 23, 2017, 5:48 PM UTC

It doesn't appear to actually have changed in the iOS app store as of this writing.

Re: Updates to our Google Voice apps

#6

Post by philip1209 » Mon, Jan 23, 2017, 5:48 PM UTC

As a current Fi user and former Voice user, I'm still unclear on the relationship between the two. Hangouts for Mac still rings when I get a phone call, but I can't answer the call.

Re: Updates to our Google Voice apps

#7

Post by scrollaway » Mon, Jan 23, 2017, 5:49 PM UTC

abrodersen wrote: post #4

There has always been a lot of uncertainty over the future of Google Voice, given the lack of updates. While this does give reassurance that the project is still alive, it puts another nail in the Hangouts coffin. It was widely assumed Hangouts would subsume Google Voice, but now that looks very unlikely.

But really? I live in Europe and I'm still not able to order a Google Voice number... and god damn, I tried. I move between countries very regularly, having a single international number would be fantastic.

I've essentially stopped using hangouts anyway. Everybody I talked to on there is on Discord now (https://discordapp.com/). Screenshare and video calls coming soon to it too, at which point I'll permanently log off Hangouts. If I'm going to use a proprietary system, it might as well not suck.

Re: Updates to our Google Voice apps

#8

Post by balls187 » Mon, Jan 23, 2017, 5:50 PM UTC

International SMS support plz.

Re: Updates to our Google Voice apps

#9

Post by jrowley » Mon, Jan 23, 2017, 5:50 PM UTC

This is very confusing.

Re: Updates to our Google Voice apps

#10

Post by vnchr » Mon, Jan 23, 2017, 5:50 PM UTC

In the past 4 years, there have been 7 updates to the iOS Google Voice app. As a long-time user (since the Grand Central acquisition), this is very encouraging news.