Hangouts

Hangouts For Android Will Soon Add SMS Integration

The latest Google+ Hangouts (Google Play) app will soon add an extra feature that will bring support for SMS as well. This will let users of the app store all their SMS and Hangout chats in one app.

According to Droid-Life, Community manager for Google+ Hangouts, Dori Storbeck, confirmed the following in a comment on a Google+ post. Storbeck confirmed that SMS integration will make its way to the app soon, as it is the most demanded feature in the new Hangouts app.

However, no time frame was given, as to when it will actually make its way to the app. Although, the SMS  feature will only be available to Android users, as Apple doesn’t allow its users to change their SMS app on iPhone.

SMS integration will let users of the app talk to their friends/family via single app. It will be great for contacting those people who aren’t always online on Hangouts or those who are not even on the service. This would make messaging a bit simple for users.

Another benefit of the app would be the ability for the users to replace their default SMS apps that come pre-installed on Samsung, HTC or any other OEMs phone with their customized ROM. Users won’t have to root their phones to get Google’s simple and elegant messaging app anymore; instead Google+ Hangouts will bring the beautiful design to their devices.

Other apps, namely Facebook Messenger already offer SMS integration. Facebook Messenger offers chat heads for both SMS and Facebook messages that let you read/reply to messages without having to close any current apps. This feature isn’t available in Hangouts yet, but we’re sure Google is working on something similar.

Google+ Hangouts vs Facebook Messenger

It would be great if Google adds some kind of pop-up notification in the Hangouts app to read/reply to the message without completely switching apps. However, there are no words on this issue yet, so we’re not sure if Google will bring something similar to Chat heads or if it would be just simple SMS integration for the app. We’ll have to wait and see what Google has in store for us.

What feature would you like to see in the Hangouts app? How much do you like/hate Chat heads and why? Let us know.