Google is adding an update to its Hangouts app for Android. There will now be a video messaging feature when you upgrade to version 11 of the app when it is finally available to the public. But 9to5 Google gave a link to an APK ((Android Application Package) which is now on the web.
“Just like sending a picture, the option to send videos will lie on the bottom bar. A simple tap will open up your camera to record and then send the video via Hangouts. As the video sends you’ll be able to see upload progress and processing before the video can be played back through other apps on your device (gallery, Google Photos, etc).
Just today Google updated Hangouts on iOS to support videos up to 2 minutes, but for now it seems Android will be limited to only 1 minute. The Hangouts for iOS update also brought other things, such as the ability to boot others from group Hangouts, and this Android update also brings that feature.
After sideloading the APK myself I haven’t had any luck actually sending a video, but that issue should be resolved once Google officially rolls out this update via Google Play.”
Google launched Allo this past May with similar features to Hangouts which analysts think may signal the death of Hangouts but with this, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Google tried to buy WhatsApp for $10b before Facebook bought the biggest messaging app in the world by users for $19. All major messaging apps including Facebook’s Messenger and WeChat are seen to still be popular than Hangouts which could have promoted the launch of Allo in the first place to match Facebook’s artificial intelligence (AI) additions into Messenger. Hangouts is a Google Plus feature but its not still accurate to measure Hangouts success on the number of people on Google Plus because as it stands, everyone who has a Google account has a Google Plus account by default if they choose to. Google still has one of the best video conferencing tools when it comes to social networks but usage is still not as high among social media users.
Paul Balo is the founder of TechBooky and a highly skilled wireless communications professional with a strong background in cloud computing, offering extensive experience in designing, implementing, and managing wireless communication systems.
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