One of the most requested features for Hangouts is finally arriving in the latest update to the messaging app. Once you’ve updated to version 7.0, you will now see that you now have the ability to do quick replies from the notification bar without having to open the app. But it also looks like the rumors are true that they might be removing SMS and MMS for Hangouts as they are pushing users to download Google Messenger.
A lot of other messaging apps already have the ability to do quick reply, but Hangouts was one of the holdouts. With the latest update, you also now have that superpower, which comes in handy when you need to respond quickly but it would take a few seconds to unlock your phone and then go to the app to respond. However, this option is only available if there’s just one Hangouts notification. If there are several stacked together, then you’d have to do it the old-fashioned way.
Another new feature is that you can now add a shortcut of an important conversation to your home screen. When you click on the shortcut icon, it will directly open to the conversation, whether it’s an individual chat or a group chat. However, there is still no Direct Share for this new update.
Last month we told you about the rumors that Google will be removing SMS and MMS functionality in Hangouts and it looks like that will become a reality soon. A pop up message telling the user to download Google Messenger is quite “suspicious” as it appears every now and then even if you already cancelled and ignored it before. This may very well give credence to that rumor, so let’s just wait and see.
VIA: Android Police
