Hangouts have come a long way since Google introduced the service back in May 2013. This multi-platform communication service has been updated to version 5.0 on iOS, while the update is still not available on Android. This seemed to be a really odd choice but Google, one we certainly do not appreciate, but it seems like the wait will be over soon. According to Phandroid’s very own Derek Ross, the version 5.0 of Google Hangouts will launch soon, and the update could be live really soon, perhaps even today, read on.
Now, you’re probably wondering what sort of changes will we see in this new update? Well, the source has provided such info in his post on Google+, so let’s start from the top, shall we. It seems like Google went on to further polish Hangouts in this update, and has also added / changed some things. The lag that was present while sending messages and loading conversations will be gone in this version apparently. Lag might be a bit of an overstatement, but you can expect Hangouts to run as smooth as butter in this new version. The time it took for the app to load the main screen conversation will now be shorter as well it seems. Google has also decided to include a Hangouts splash screen in this update, and the ‘signed in as’ pop-up will be white colored now. Hangouts 5.0 will also come with support for GIFs, or in other words, animated images.
That is pretty much it. I’m sure that many of you who use Google Hangouts will appreciate such an update for Google. You’ll get a new feature, along with some changes and an overall better experience using the app, which is always a welcomed edition. It definitely seemed weird when Google rolled out this update to iOS prior to Android, but we had to deal with that, and the company seems ready to give us the goods as well. In case you have Hangouts installed on your device, make sure to check if the update is available, it is expected to land really soon.