Google Updated Hangouts, Adds Animated GIFs, SMS Integration, Location Sharing And More

Google+ Hangouts is a free video chat service from Google that enables both one-on-one chats and group chats with up to ten people at a time. To make Google+ Hangouts more attractive to people, Google has now added many attractive features.


Google Hangouts

Google+ Hangouts focuses more on “face-to-face-to-face” group interaction as opposed to one-on-one video chats, and utilizes sophisticated technology to seamlessly switch the focus to the person currently chatting. Now Google has added animated GIFs, SMS integration, location sharing and many more to Hangouts.

Animated GIF

From now on, you no longer need to use the separate SMS application included on your phone, text messages will simply be delivered to Hangouts the same way instant messages are. Location sharing is a nice feature. You can dump it into your open chat with a simple button next to the button used to insert photos.

SMS Support Integrated To Hangouts

Besides, Google has added HD video calls. Google will automatically adjust contrast and brightness levels to remedy the situation, regardless of whether you’re on mobile or desktop.

HD Video Calls

Google has introduced automatic video editing features that allows users to turn clips that they recorded with their phones into small, sharable videos, complete with a soundtrack and effects. Auto-awesome for videos takes single clips, identifies key scenes, adds image stabilization and other effects and even a soundtrack based on licensed music that can be legally shared. Users can either leave everything to Google’s algorithms or decide to manually tweak the result by making videos longer or shorter, swapping the soundtrack and applying different video filters.

Auto Editing With Conrtrast

That’s not all. Released Hangouts on Air has also got a bevy of updates. When you schedule a broadcast, it creates a dedicated landing page that integrates with Google+ events, hosts a countdown timer and lists RSVPs. Hosts can even post a trailer or run pre-show Q&A sessions. No doubt, the goal is to improve the ability of users to promote On-Air hangouts and push the platform farther into the mainstream. For more, visit Google Blog.

Source: Gigaom

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Anatol

Anatol Rahman is the Editor at TheTechJournal. He loves complicated machineries, and crazy about robot and space. He likes cycling. Before joining TheTechJournal team, he worked in the telemarketing industry. You can catch him on Google+.

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