In October, Google revealed that chat will be free starting from next year as part of the ultimate scorn of classic Hangouts. The company detailed a number of shifts like this, plus a chance to group video calling that introduces Meet to the on-hand Hangouts app.
Then Google made it known that group video calling in classic Hangouts will be canceled to support Meet. A link is produced as an alternative instead of the app automatically joining the call interface and the ability to use Meet for one-to-one conversations also exists, but users can still use the old video calling method.
Google has revealed before now that this change will be coming in November, and it’s currently rolling out (through Android Police). Version 36.0 of Hangouts for iOS & Android includes the new Workspace-era Google Meet symbol to the top-right corner of all conversations.
In a call with just one person, clicking the button a panel with three options will emerge:
- Share a Meet video call link “New”
- Call [x] with video
- Call [x] with audio only
And while in group conversations, clicking that same button automatically adds “Join me in a Meet video call. [Link]” into the text field. Equally, both users can click the URL to open the full Meet app or the Gmail experience. Users will gain a lot from the new features that Google has been included in the Meet app recently.
This transformation comes as Google is reducing the classic Hangouts app. This Meet change will be generally rolling out today and follows the classic Hangouts movement to Messages for Google Fi customers. In the meantime, Hangouts will not be ringing anymore whenever you receive Google Voice calls.
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