hangoutsGoogle has today updated its Hangouts messaging app with the ability to make voice calls, Google Voice integration, inline GIFs and more.

What's New in Version 1.3.0

- See which of your friends is using Hangouts, and who can be reached right now
- Call phone numbers from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch (free to the US and Canada)
- Make and receive calls using your Google Voice number
- Send and receive animated GIFs that play inline
- Hangouts will temporarily turn down your music (instead of stopping it) when you receive an incoming message

While the app allows users to make voice calls, Google Voice users also get the ability to receive calls via their Google Voice number and can use Voice calling credits to make international calls, notes Google+ Hangouts product manager Kate Cushing in a Google+ post.

The new feature comes after both Facebook and Apple have made efforts to direct people away from using traditional cell phone calling using carriers' radio towers and instead use VoIP services like Facebook Messenger voice calling and FaceTime audio.

Hangouts is a universal app that's available in the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Top Rated Comments

oneMadRssn Avatar
oneMadRssn
157 months ago
Does it still offer no way of going "offline," or signing off without really logging out of the entire app?

I'd love this app, but I don't want to be on gchat 24/7.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ElZeus Avatar
ElZeus
157 months ago
Can someone give me one fair reason to put google back into a new ipad I got

Free calling.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bozzykid Avatar
bozzykid
157 months ago

I'm unsure why they integrated Google Voice calls into Google Hangouts because it doesn't seem the right place for it, but I'm happy you can finally do this in an official Google app.

Google has said Hangouts is the future of Google Voice. Eventually the GV app will probably be dead and all the functionality will be rolled into Hangouts. I'm guessing the GV messaging feature will be the next feature to roll into Hangouts.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NocturnalJazz Avatar
NocturnalJazz
157 months ago
Google Voice app on iOS needs a redesign. Woof.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
deannnnn Avatar
deannnnn
157 months ago
Does it still offer no way of going "offline," or signing off without really logging out of the entire app?

I'd love this app, but I don't want to be on gchat 24/7.

This is the exact reason I don't use it. Why can't I log out when I want to log out and log back in when I want to log in without having to re-set up the entire app? Google wants us to replace iMessage with gChat/Hangouts, but gChat has a fundamentally different purpose for me.

----------

Can't you simply close the app?

No. Closing the app keeps you logged in.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Poisonivy326 Avatar
Poisonivy326
157 months ago
Can someone give me one fair reason to put google back into a new ipad I got because the tablet I tried last Xmas with quite reasonable specs like the nvidia t30s for the time, was so trashy that even a Nokia Lumia I got for the total 6 months the tablet was between me and the service was thriving in comparison?

Even if gapps are much better for iOS than their laggy trashy stack they call an operating system, with 6% effectiveness against native coding because they use JAVA VM to copycat the iOS layers like micro$oft with silverlight and wp7+8 shouldn't I be called a dumb idiot to install them again?

I get ballietic the moment I see adcoiches and all the google gimmicks for serving damn ads in every place of my canvas trashing my eyes with neon-faux badly designed intrusive ads they purposefully make them look like this?

Forgive my bitterness but google has become so greedy that they destroyed their tablet share with the fragmentation and they'll realize it. Google apps shouldn't be in the AppStore but I understand their being there because of the accounts many users have. I have completely written google off, even as search engine. And I'm not the only one.

You don't even browse youtube? Or have a gmail account?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments

Popular Stories

M5 MacBook Pro

Apple Announces New 14-Inch MacBook Pro With M5 Chip

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:07 am PDT by
Apple today updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, which is also available in updated iPad Pro and Vision Pro models. In addition, the base 14-inch MacBook Pro can now be configured with up to 4TB of storage on Apple's online store, whereas the previous model maxed out at 2TB. However, the maximum amount of unified RAM available for this model remains 32GB. Like...
Read Full Article • 275 comments
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

Apple Debuts New iPad Pro With M5 Chip, Faster Charging, and More

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple today announced the next-generation iPad Pro, featuring the custom-designed M5, C1X, and N1 chips. The M5 chip has up to a 10-core CPU, with four performance cores and six efficiency cores. It features a next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerator in each core, allowing the new iPad Pro to deliver up to 3.5x the AI performance than the previous model, and a third-generation ray-tracing ...
Read Full Article • 280 comments
maxresdefault

Here's Everything Apple Announced Today

Wednesday October 15, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We didn't get a second fall event this year, but Apple did unveil updated products with a series of press releases that went out today. The M5 chip made an appearance in new MacBook Pro, Vision Pro, and iPad Pro models. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up our coverage and highlighted the main feature changes for each device below. MacBook Pro M5...
Read Full Article • 85 comments
iphone air thickness

Apple Said to Cut iPhone Air Production Amid Underwhelming Sales

Friday October 17, 2025 8:29 am PDT by
Apple plans to cut production of the iPhone Air amid underwhelming sales performance, Japan's Mizuho Securities believes (via The Elec). The Japanese investment banking and securities firm claims that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are seeing higher sales than their predecessors during the same period last year, while the standard iPhone 17 is a major success, performing...
Read Full Article • 404 comments
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
Read Full Article • 86 comments
Vision Pro M5 Announcement

Apple Updates Vision Pro With M5 Chip, Dual Knit Band, and 120Hz Support

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:14 am PDT by
Apple today updated the Vision Pro headset with its next-generation M5 chip for faster performance, and a more comfortable Dual Knit Band. The M5 chip has a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, and a 16-core Neural Engine, and we have confirmed the Vision Pro still has 16GB of RAM. With the M5 chip, the Vision Pro offers faster performance and longer battery life compared...
Read Full Article • 250 comments
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

New 14-Inch MacBook Pro Has Two Key Upgrades Beyond the M5 Chip

Thursday October 16, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with an M5 chip, and there are two key storage-related upgrades beyond that chip bump. First, Apple says the new 14-inch MacBook Pro offers up to 2× faster SSD performance than the equivalent previous-generation model, so read and write speeds should get a significant boost. Apple says it is using "the latest storage technology," ...
Read Full Article • 64 comments
MacBook Pro M5 Screen

New MacBook Pro Does Not Include a Charger in the Box in Europe

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:59 am PDT by
The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 chip does not include a charger in the box in European countries, including the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, and others, according to Apple's online store. In the U.S. and all other countries outside of Europe, the new MacBook Pro comes with Apple's 70W USB-C Power Adapter, but European customers miss out....
Read Full Article • 505 comments
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday October 14, 2025 8:43 am PDT by
Apple's AirPods Max have now been available for almost five years, so what do we know about the second-generation version? According to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the new AirPods Max will be lighter than the current ones, but exactly how much is as yet known. The current AirPods Max weigh 0.85 pounds (386.2 grams), excluding the charging case, making it one of the heavier...
Read Full Article • 90 comments
macbook pro blue

Apple's M5 MacBook Pro Imminent: What to Expect

Tuesday October 14, 2025 4:35 pm PDT by
Apple is going to launch a new version of the MacBook Pro as soon as tomorrow, so we thought we'd go over what to expect from Apple's upcoming Mac. M5 Chip The MacBook Pro will be one of the first new devices to use the next-generation M5 chip, which will replace the M4 chip. The M5 is built on TSMC's more advanced 3-nanometer process, and it will bring speed and efficiency improvements. ...
Read Full Article • 56 comments