Unlike most other Google apps, Hangouts is one that did not receive a material design revamp with the release of Lollipop. The Hangouts team have released a new update which has given in material design and a few new features.
You will now be able to see your contracts’ “last seen” (like on WhatsApp) and vice versa (if the option is not manually disabled), meaning that both parties can check when their acquaintance was last active on Hangouts.
The update also includes 16 new sticker packs which may add an element of personalisation for some users. Video chat can is also filterable including filters such as sepia, black and white and vignette.
Hangouts is also becoming smarter – suppose you’re asked, “where are you?” by your friend. Hangouts will provide a suggestion to share your location with that friend using one click.
Looking up a contact on Hangouts is also much easier as you can just click on their phone number on the app and find whether they’re on Hangouts or not.
Video stability and reliability is also promised to have improved. Overall, this is a very satisfactory, albeit late, update.
