Eager to consolidate your Android communication applications a bit? Today's the day you've been waiting for, friend, because Google is now rolling out the update to Hangouts that brings with it SMS integration.
The new version of Hangouts is 2.0.1.22 and includes support for both SMS and MMS in addition to the usual messaging that Hangouts is known for. That means that users can now easily switch between text messages and Hangouts messages while staying inside the same app. SMS and MMS in Hangouts requires Android 4.0 or higher. Also included in this Hangouts update is support for animated GIFs, location sharing in conversations and the ability to share device information, in-call status or a current mood.
The addition of SMS and MMS to Hangouts should make it a bit easier for Android users to communicate with their pals, as it means that they'll be doing less jumping between apps when switching between SMS and Hangouts conversations. It'd be nice if the Hangouts app just integrated both SMS and Hangouts conversations into a single timeline rather that making users toggle between them, but hey, the addition of SMS support is certainly a start.
Hangouts isn't the only Google app that's getting a nice update today, as El Goog has also updated its Google Keyboard app to make it taste more like KitKat. The updated Google Keyboard includes revised long-press menus, emoji tweaks, de-blued press states and space-aware gesture typing, which means that gesture typers can now just slide their finger through the space bar to enter a space rather than lifting their finger off the screen. Both the updated Hangouts and Google Keyboard apps can be found at the Play Store links below.
Via Droid-Life, Android Central, Google Play Store: Hangouts, Google Keyboard
