Google updates Google Hangouts for Android with new features

The new Android version of Google communication tool Hangouts will allow users to merge SMS and Hangout conversations. Hangouts conversations include instant messaging and audio chats as well as video conferencing. In the new Hangouts 2.1 for Android, SMS and Hangout conversations with the same recipient are combined into a single conversation, Mike Dodd, an Android software developer wrote in Google+ post Monday.

Google today updated its Hangouts for Android app with a trio of new features. You can download the new version now directly from Google Play. If you’re not seeing the update yet, that’s likely because it’s a gradual rollout. Google engineer Mike Dodd says the new version will be available “this week” and the Android account on Google+ says “over the next few days” so you should get it soon enough. Google released version 2.0 of Hangouts for Android in November 2013. That was naturally a much bigger release, as it included SMS support (as well as MMS support on Android 4.0 and up), animated GIFs, and one-tap location sharing.