Written by:
Google announced a plethora of goodies today and while we’ve been seeing several shots the company’s latest hardware, we keep noticing unfamiliar software icons hanging out on Mountain View’s new devices. Pictured above is a shot of Google’s new Messenger app that will be shipping with the Nexus 6 as part of Android 5.0 Lollipop.
No, Messenger isn’t Hangouts’ replacement, instead it’s more of a simplified app that can be used to send SMS and MMS messages. In an effort to clear up some of the confusion, Google released a statement explaining this new software’s role in Android.
Messenger and Hangouts offer users choice, each have their own benefits. Hangouts work great for cross platform (web, iOS, Android) and cross medium communications (video, voice,messaging, SMS). Messenger will be specially designed to be a quick and easy way to send and receive SMS and MMS messages on Android; more to come (Nexus 6 will come with both apps).
So it appears that Messenger is intended to be barebones quick message app for Android’s casual audience, while Hangouts will be available to users looking for a more robust experience. It’s possible that Messenger could also be Google’s new chat app that we heard about a couple of weeks back, but it’s now clear that Android users will have a couple of pre-installed messaging options when Android 5.0 arrives.
(via Android Police)
So Messenger will be a regular SMS/MMS feature like the old text and not just something for Android to Android like Apples iMESSAGE? I still don’t get hangouts. I can’t find any video icon on my Nexus 5 to do a video call. Everyone I know has an iPhone and want to do group Facetimes and then see my phone and get disappointed.
Nothing confusing about that. Google constantly shutting and moving things around. No wonder Android sucks.
Change is actually something which people like about Android. If you’re an Apple fan then it’s because you probably don’t like change which is understandable. Apple does focus more upon keeping their ui relatively the same so that everyone is always familiar with it, which is good but there is also a place in the market for an os that is always being updated for what the community wants.
I can understand this change, some people were confused about why Hangouts was the default messaging app and didn’t know what to do with it, if you’re that person then this looks like a more simple app which they should understand better as a regular sms app. I myself will switch back to Hangouts so that I can integrate my Google+ Hangout conversations with my SMS conversations. I love it. Google “constantly shutting and moving things around” is one of the things that makes Android exciting as I am almost always happy with those changes that they make.
That doesn’t make any sense. I am an Android fan (been around since Nexus 1), and I have no idea why they shuttered Messenger, only to integrate Hangouts, only to relaunch a new Messenger.
I’ll probably be sticking to Hangouts (I really love it). But seriously… WTF Google?!
apple fanboy alert