![]() Luckily the update cycle on Google Apps geared for businesses is not as draconian you can think of these as an LTS version. Keep in mind that by default, Google enables auto update on their apps and thus in practical terms many people literally had to re-learn how to send text messages from their mobile phones in order to comply with Google’s product lifecycle ‘strategy.’ One striking example was the forceful introduction of Hangouts as the SMS ‘default app’ on Android and the complete reversal within 18 months. If you were to say this effort is an excellent strategy to build the Hangouts empire, everyone in the room would just nod and move on.Įnter 2 years ago, when for whatever reason Hangouts becomes an unloved stepchild and starts loosing features: Gmail Integration in browser, SMS, Hangouts on Air, Android Widgets have been neutered or killed off. When Hangouts launched, it was branded as a ‘Suite’ of tools-IM, Group Chat, Voice and Video calling, PSTN calling, even SMS support was added on mobile devices. Sadly, things look a little different when you add Google Voice, Gmail Browser Integration, and Text Messaging on mobile devices, as well as constant slew of changes to the mix. After rebranding with the most inopportune name, ‘Hangouts,’ and implementing true cross-platform compatibility, Google Hangouts became THE gold standard for free IM communication products. This event prompted me to take a look back and realize Hangouts is dying. This is in addition to launching Allo, an app geared to replace the SMS feature of Hangouts. ![]() Today, Google rolled out yet another product into their communications sphere called Duo-a mobile Video calling app.
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