About a year ago, Google split Hangouts into two separate apps for G Suite users. Hangouts Chat is a Slack-like communication platform for teams. Hangouts Meet is a video chat platform that has existed independently from the old Hangouts video chat that everyone knows. That’s about to change as Meet will officially replace the old Hangouts video chat in May for G Suite users.
This news will come to no surprise to anyone that has been using the old Hangouts video chat. Google has been slowly stripping away features for a while. What was once a platform with tons of tools and fun effects has become a bare-bones utility. Google says Meet offers “significantly better performance” and a “cleaner, more focused user experience.” Starting May 21st, all meetings created in Calendar for G Suite will default to Meet.
It’s worth noting that all of this only concerns G Suite users. Classic Hangouts will still be available for everyone else. We should also mention that Hangouts Meet currently only works in Google Chrome. Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge users are out of luck for the time being, but Google says support should arrive before the cut-off date.
Google already has enough messaging problems to deal with. The “Hangouts” platform is one of the more confusing parts. Consumers will not be affected by this change. The classic Hangouts video chat platform will still be available for live podcasts and video calls. G Suite users can check out this page to see the comparison between Hangouts Meet and classic Hangouts. Be ready for the changeover next month.
Source: Google Support Via: Android Police