One day after a leak gave us a preview of a new version of Hangouts for Android that’ll include a refreshed UI, a second leak has surfaced that shows the updated Hangouts app for Android Wear.
The new Hangouts for Android Wear doesn’t appear to be quite the overhaul that Hangouts for Android v4 is, but it’s still worth looking at. When you launch the Hangouts app on your Android Wear device, you’ll see a green section at the top of the display that’ll let you switch accounts, as well as a list of your current conversations.
Jumping into a conversation will show you the messages and let you scroll all the way back to the start of the convo. One detail that’s worth noting is that if one of the participants sent a photo, you won’t see the image in Hangouts for Android Wear. Instead, you’ll see “Sent a photo.” When you decide to reply, you can use your voice to compose a response, send an emoji, or select a quick reply from a list that includes options like Yes, No, Thanks, Love You, and Ok. You’ll also have the option to send a reply from your phone if you’d prefer to type out a lengthier message.
One detail that’s still unclear is whether or not you can use your voice to tell Google to send a Hangouts message to someone. When Android Police attempted this, something started to happen and then the app crashed, but it’s unclear if the feature will make it into the final release of Hangouts v4.0.
Between the new-look user interface of Hangouts for Android and this Android Wear update, Hangouts v4.0 is shaping up to be a major update to Google’s messaging app. Some folks have felt that Hangouts hasn’t been getting as much love as it should since the debut of Google’s Messenger app, but this v4.0 update for Hangouts ought to make those people pretty happy. Unfortunately, there’s still no word on when Hangouts v4.0 will actually roll out to us regular folk, but I’ll be sure to let you know when it does.
