Hangouts updated on iOS, more features than Android

A recent post on Google Plus has revealed that Hangouts has been updated for iOS. Usually, this news would not spur a post here. The inclusion of features Android users do not yet have, however, has me curious.

The update includes every feature Android users have in our app. Further, new features we don’t have are available to iPhone users. No word yet on if or when we will see the Android app support this, however it’s quite possible they’ll be available with the Kitkat update.

Calling to phones from the Hangouts app is now a feature. Calls to the United States and Canada are free. International calls can be made using the available balance in a Google Voice account. Receiving calls is now possible on iOS, however that is with a Google Voice account, not just the regular Hangouts app.

Hangouts incoming notifications will no longer stop music currently playing. The music volume will lower, then raise back to the level it originally was to notify users of a notification. Finally, animated gifs will now work inline.

As stated above, there’s no word on Android availability yet. I’m speculating with the launch of Kitkat and the Nexus 5, we should be seeing these along with possible SMS integration. It should be stated I have no firm knowledge and everything stated is pure speculation at this point. Stay tuned for more info as we get it.

Via LandOfDroid