Google Hangouts platform iOS
Features
Hangouts allowed conversations between two or more users. The service could be accessed online through the Gmail or Google+ websites, or through mobile apps available for Android and iOS (which were distributed as a successor to their existing Google Talk apps). However, because it used a proprietary protocol instead of the XMPP open standard protocol used by Google Talk, most third-party applications which had access to Google Talk did not have access to Google+ Hangouts.
Chat histories were saved online which allowed them to be synced between devices. A "watermark" of a user's avatar was used as a marker to indicate how far they have read into the conversation. Photos could be shared during conversations, which were automatically uploaded into a private Google+ album. Users could also use color emoji symbols in their messages.As with the previous Google+ Hangouts, users could also perform a group video chat with up to 10 users at a time. In 2016 Google upgraded Hangouts to 25 concurrent users in HD video for Work/Education. The new Google Hangouts app on iOS integrated a Google Voice number to some extent, but on Android the SMS supported in Hangouts didn’t fully integrate with Google Voice for calls or texts. Integration was first expected by 2014 but was deprecated in January 2016. The reason for the delay appears tied to Google switching away from the XMPP protocol it used, as mentioned above.For Google Chrome, users did not need to install a plugin. However, for Internet Explorer 11, the user had to install the "Google Talk Plugin" to be able to use the video features.
In Android 4.4, Hangouts was integrated with text messages sending and receiving functions, which is the default SMS app on the Nexus 5. For other Android phones, users could choose to open the SMS function when they download the new version of Hangouts via Google Play. SMS conversations were shown in a drawer on the left side. The update also added GIF support and a new location-sharing button, which allowed the user to send their GPS location to their contacts.Hangouts included the ability to make free voice calls to other Hangouts users, and charged users (via pre-registered credit) to call landline and mobile phones internationally except for calls to the United States and Canada which were free of charge. Currently, Android users had to have both the Google Hangouts and Hangouts Dialer apps installed if they wish to call landline or mobile telephone numbers via the public switched telephone network. Users will have to use YouTube Live for live-streaming events.
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