Google+ Opens to Everyone and Merges Huddle and Hangouts
What changed
Before this update, two gaps stood out for regular users of the service. The first was that Hangouts, the video chat feature on the web, and Huddle, the group messaging feature in the mobile app, were separate. The second was that the network was still invitation-based, so it was hard to find friends there.
Google addressed both. Huddle was renamed Messenger and appeared to include the Hangout feature as well, and the service was opened to the public, although it kept the beta label.
Open questions
- How Messenger would handle the split between text chat (Huddle) and video chat (Hangouts) on a single screen.
- How it would behave on phones that have no front-facing camera, which would be unable to join a video call in the usual way.
Issues the writer hoped would be fixed
The writer, a regular user of the app, noticed two problems that were still present: notifications arrived with a delay, and photos did not always upload automatically. The hope was that the new version would improve both.
Status today
Google+ and its Hangouts feature are no longer part of Google’s current lineup, and the messaging tools of that period have long been replaced. This article is kept as a record of how the service looked at the time.
Frequently asked questions
What happened to Huddle?
It was renamed Messenger in the Google+ app, and the new name was meant to cover group chat and Hangouts together.
Was Google+ still in beta?
Yes. The service remained a beta, but it became a public one that anyone could join.
Could every phone use the video part?
That was unclear. Phones without a front-facing camera raised the obvious question of how video chat would work for them.