14 DAY TRIAL // Over the course of time, Google has launched a whole host of messaging applications, including Google Talk and Google Voice. Some have been more popular than others, and then Google rolled out Hangouts.
Even if at first the application seemed to hold an immense potential and the company teased some amazing functions like the notification sync across all platforms or videoconferencing with up to ten people and SMS Support, users weren't particularly taken with it.
Not long afterwards, the search giant introduced its own Messenger app, which only confused people even more.
Google itself said at one point that Hangouts was the “future of messaging,” but now the search giant doesn't seem so sure anymore.
Yesterday, we told you that the company started sending out invites to users interested in joining its Project Fi network service. Well, it appears that Google is also recommending users who plan to jump on board with Project Fi to switch to Messenger for their SMS needs.
Looking to join Project Fi? You’d better get acquainted with Messenger
What’s probably going on is that Hangouts isn't actually prepared to handle everything in terms of SMS, MMS and group messaging. So that’s why Google is advising users to go directly to Messenger.
Google’s exact words go like this, “For now, we recommend using Messenger as the default SMS app. There are a few features, like group messaging that aren't supported in Hangouts yet.”
So if you haven’t tried Google’s Messenger service yet, you might as well go ahead and give it a ride. Recently, an update added notification quick replies and support for GIFs.
It’s also worth mentioning here that Google’s Messenger is definitely being updated on a more regular basis than Hangouts. On the other hand, the latter app might be headed towards a major overhaul in the near future, but we can’t be sure of that at the moment.
So if you’re the owner of a Nexus 6 smartphone (or want to buy one through the service) and want to jump on board with Google’s Project Fi, you’d better start considering your options in terms of messaging services.
