Google was originally supposed to start the migration away from classic Hangouts to Chat in October 2019 for Workspace (previously G Suite) users. That switch was delayed, and the multi-stage plan did not start until June 2020. The final phase is now set for late March.
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Google+ shut down in April of 2020 as a social network for consumers, but the product was kept around for businesses that wanted an internal tool to communicate with employees in a post/stream-like manner. Citing low usage, Google is shutting down Currents and replacing it with Spaces in the new integrated Gmail/Chat.
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Google Chat, the company’s alternative to Slack and Microsoft Teams — not to be confused with the web app for its RCS and SMS messaging app on Android — is rolling out an overdue feature to its web app. Starting today, Google Chat is making it easier to add rich text formatting to your messages on the web.
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Google is making a text box/compose field tweak to the Chat mobile and web apps that sees the Workspace communication service look more like the consumer Messages client for SMS/RCS.
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Back in September, Google previewed how Chat will let you make one-on-one Meet calls without having to use URLs. Similar to classic Hangouts, this feature is now rolling out in the version of Google Chat inside Gmail.
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Google is rolling out a simple but rather useful ability to “mark as unread” in Chat. This capability is already found on competing team messaging solutions, and doubles as a light reminder system.
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Cloud Next is Google Cloud’s annual conference for enterprise customers and developers, and this year’s virtual edition is kicking off later today at 9 a.m. PT. Google Workspace announcements at Cloud Next ‘21 are primarily centered on security.
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Back in June, with the announcement that Workspace is available “for everyone,” Google revealed that “Rooms” in Chat would soon be renamed to “Spaces” and gain a slew of new features. That rebrand is now underway.
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Google continues to add more features to Chat as it becomes available for more and more people ahead of the classic Hangouts depreciation. The Google Chat web app is now integrating Tenor GIF search.
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The standalone Google Chat PWA and website are getting a straightforward dark theme to match the Android and iOS clients.
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The process of shutting down classic Hangouts for Workspace users is almost complete, as Google this week enables the integrated Gmail with Chat and Rooms for even more paid accounts.
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Last year, Google Chat added support for talking with users outside their company, thus expanding from being just an internal team communication tool. Google Workspace admins are now getting the ability to limit that external Chat access.
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With Chat serving as a key part of the integrated Gmail experience, Google lets users quickly specify their activity status. In addition to the existing availability options, you’re now able to set a custom status in Gmail and Chat on the web.
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Disgruntled Hangouts fans and users have taken to review bombing the Google Chat listing on the Play Store as the phased migration to the service is now fully underway.
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In late 2021, classic Hangouts will stop working for enterprise Workspace customers and only Google Chat will be available. Google is now beginning that process of deprecating the Hangouts app and website for free personal accounts with a warning and sign out.
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Last month, Google announced a revamp of all its emoji — nearly 1,000 characters — coming to Android 12 this fall and Chrome OS 92. These new emoji designs are also set to arrive in Google Chat over the coming weeks.
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Google Chat conversations let you quickly schedule a Calendar event, add a file from Drive, or start a Meet call. The secondary file and image-sharing options in Google Chat can now be disabled by Workspace admins.
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As of last month, all personal Google Accounts can enable the new Gmail that supports Chat and Rooms. The latter aspect, which will soon be renamed to “Spaces,” allows for large-scale productivity. Gmail now supports opening a Google Slides presentation directly to allow for multitasking with Chat.
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Google has a multi-stage plan to shut down classic Hangouts and move enterprise Workspace customers to Chat. This latest step in advancing Google Chat adoption takes place next month.
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The writing has been on the wall for Google Hangouts for some time now, but soon Hangouts will begin warning of the app’s upcoming shutdown and migration to Chat.
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In addition to different applications being accessible all on one page, Google’s vision for the future of productivity involves having those services be tightly integrated together. The latest example of this will see Google suggestions for 1:1s in Chat based on Calendar.
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Last month, Google started rolling out an online revamp of Chat to free consumer accounts as part of the classic Hangouts migration. That Google Chat web redesign is now coming to paid Workspace users over the coming weeks with a number of enhancements.
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Following the official launch last week, Google Chat is picking up improved search. Starting on Android, the experience is adding filters to “help you find artifacts like files and links more easily.”
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Last year, Google announced that the future of Gmail will see Chat messaging and group Rooms join the existing Meet video calling integration. This is already available to enterprise Workspace users, and Google is now letting personal Gmail accounts get this “integrated workspace.”
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