Google is giving more attention than usual to Hangouts as of late. Just yesterday the latest version of Hangouts for Android was discovered to bring in some new functionality along with some pretty noticeable visual changes, (although the app update is not yet released) which finally will be including a more material design like style to the UI. Along with that update it also appears that Android Wear will finally be getting a proper Hangouts app which allows much of the same function as the regular app on phones and tablets, save for image viewing and typing with a keyboard. Also not too long ago, Google gave a facelift to the Hangouts for Chrome app with a more material like appearance as well.
Now the latest with Hangouts comes builds off of the already existing screenshare option in a Hangouts chat. Today Google has announced that they’re bringing the option for a full-view experience to screen share, so when users share their screen with others in a Hangout those who are seeing what’s being shared by an individual will be able to view things a little more easily. Google states that there will be two changes to the interface after this feature launches today. Users will be able to hide thumbnails of participants as they see fit, which can be done using the newly inserted icon all the way to the left of the control bar that sits up at the top of the screen.
The other change is that when users are in a Hangout with someone else and one individual shares screen content, the shared content will take up as much visible screen space as possible for all other participants in the hangout. With this new change, thumbnails will still be visible, but now overlayed on top of the screen shared content. As stated above though users will also have the ability to now hide thumbnail photos of all participants in the hangout meeting, which will give attendees the richest experience for full-view content. Google says the new changes are launching today, although they don’t give a specific time, so it’s a safe bet that it’s rolling out in stages and most people should see by the weekend if not immediately.