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WhatsApp multi-device premium plan starts to take shape as more beta details emerge
The optional subscription will bring additional features to WhatsApp Business users
WhatsApp hasn't always been completely free — iOS users had to initially pay a one-time fee of $1 to download the app, which in 2013 was replaced by a more universal, subscription-like model where new users were charged the same amount after a year of free usage. However, in 2016, the messaging service went the freeware route, scrapping all forms of payments. It's stayed that way ever since, but hints spotted in the app last month pointed toward WhatsApp working on an optional subscription for Business users with some additional features. While it's known that one of them is extended multi-device support, another premium feature has come to the fore today.
WhatsApp message reactions start rolling out
Why bother with written-out responses when reactions can do the job?
Communicating over plain text is... fine... but pair that with some clever use of emoji, and chats immediately have the potential to get a whole lot more engaging — and dare we say, spicier. We've come a long way from simple emoticons, to sprinkling emoji here and there, to message reactions being baked-in to popular apps. Those have included nearly every major player out there, including Instagram, Twitter, Messenger, and Telegram. WhatsApp had long been a reaction holdout, but that's finally changing now.
WhatsApp could introduce a new subscription plan for extended multi-device support
The subscription for business users will likely include other benefits, too
WhatsApp only recently gained proper support for multiple devices – something that’s been possible with Telegram for years now. While you were able to chat on a couple of devices using the same account, everything was still tied to your phone as the primary point of contact. Thankfully the app recently changed that, untethering other logged-in devices and allowing you to access WhatsApp even when your phone’s dead or doesn't have a signal. While up to four linked devices are supported with the current implementation, a new subscription offering might just permit even more than that.
Change is an inevitable part of life, and for those of us who welcome Google products and services into our lives, we sure get a lot of it. Then again, just because Google has a habit of killing things off doesn't mean it's necessarily swift about it, and for literally years now we've been reading the writing on the wall for Hangouts. Now as the push to Chat moves through its final phases, Google's taking a big step towards putting Hangouts down for good and delisting the app for both Android and iOS
Google Workspace users will face Chat migration from Hangouts in March
A month to go before the chatocalypse
Gather 'round, Hangouts fans — the day you all knew was coming is near. Google has been slowly sunsetting one of its many messaging attempts, with Chat (the service, not the RCS backend) serving as a replacement. As we continue to roll into 2022, there's not much time left in the Hangouts transition timeline. Today's update from Google provides us with some hard dates for when users will be shuffled off into the world of Chat.
Google is all-in with RCS Chat these days, for better or worse, but there's always another Google chat platform. In fact, there's another one called Chat. The teams-oriented Google Chat is more widely available these days, and it's getting a new feature. In the coming days, you'll see rich text formatting in Chats.
Google Rooms is now Spaces, and it's integrated into all of your favorite apps
Live for all Workspace users starting today
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Google rebranded G Suite into Workspace last fall, bringing along new icons and some fresh features to help keep users working from home organized and in control of meetings, emails, calendars, and more. Today, Google announced some major changes for Workspace, including an individual plan for small businesses, an introduction to Spaces, and new RSVP options in Calendar — and it's making it available to everyone.
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Joining the likes of 2006-era MSN Messenger and Google Hangouts (which it replaces), Google Chat has picked up support for custom statuses. Previously teased as part of the "Spaces" tweak expected to roll out this summer, the feature is live in both Google Chat and Gmail, allowing for custom text, emojis, and dates for your status. After arriving on the web apps earlier this summer, both Android clients now have access to statuses as well.
Hangouts users are taking their Google Chat transition frustrations out on the app's Play Store listing
Several missing features have left plenty of people confused
Like it or not, the death of Hangouts is truly underway. Earlier today, we reported on the ongoing transition to Google Chat, as users are now prompted to switch apps before being signed out of their account in favor of messaging directly in Gmail. As more and more of the Hangouts userbase is pushed from their preferred method of communicating, the Chat listing on the Play Store is getting review-bombed into oblivion.
The slow, painful death of Google Hangouts is reaching its final phase
It's time to say goodbye and switch to Chat
Hangouts is one of Google's most established messaging apps, but it's been dying a slow death for quite some time now. The transition to Google Chat is mostly complete for Google Workspace business users, but personal account holders have been able to hang on (sorry) for a bit longer. It looks like Google is preparing to put a stop to that, though.
Google Chat now suggests group chats for everyone involved in a meeting
Months after adding support for 1:1 conversations
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We've all been late to an upcoming meeting, especially when running from one Google Meet call to the next. Common courtesy is to let people know you're going to be late, but this should be as easy as possible, especially when you're already short on time. Google Workspace introduced a feature a few months ago that made it convenient to chat with people with whom you're about to meet, and with its latest update, it's even easier to reach out to groups.
Google Messages end-to-end encryption for RCS Chat is rolling out to everyone
For one-on-one conversations, not group chats
As part of today's big announcements from Google, the company snuck in a bit of a surprise: Separate from the embargo details we were provided, Google is also announcing that end-to-end encryption for Chat/RCS messages in Google Messages is now out of beta — at least, for one-on-one conversations.
Twitter's Clubhouse competitor Spaces now widely available
You need 600 followers or more in order to host a live audio chatroom
Twitter's "please don't call it Clubhouse" feature, Spaces, started rolling out to at least some users last week. Today the company announced that anyone on Android or iOS can now host a Space ... as long as they have 600 followers or more. Which seems like a weird limitation if you want to get people excited about a new feature.
Telegram's ancient web app is probably getting close to retirement
Fortunately, that's because replacements appear nearly ready to go
Telegram Web has always been a great fallback when you're not on your own computer or using a platform that doesn't properly supports any of the beautiful native apps the social network offers (looking at you, Chrome OS), but it's far from pretty. It looks dated compared to the other Telegram apps and doesn't offer newer features like stickers and voice calls. That's where two new Telegram web applications come in — they feel much more modern, come with tons of animations, and they support stickers.
How to enable the Google Chat tab in Gmail for Android
It's now enabled for free users, but not on by default
Google would be very happy if you used its Chat application, so pleased that it's pushing it beyond the boundaries of its actual app. Last month the tool became available to regular users (who don't pay for access to Google Workspace), and now its integration with Gmail is available to them, too. But it isn't turned on by default, so if you'd like to use it, you have to go digging in the settings menu.
Google updates Chat UI for Workspace users to match personal accounts
Improved notification controls are on the way too
Workspace customers have had access to Google Chat since last year, and it finally became available for personal users earlier this month. There were some noticeable UI differences between personal and business accounts using Chat, but that won't be the case for much longer. Starting Wednesday, an updated version of Chat is available to Workspace users that looks and acts a lot more like what personal accounts are currently using.
The life and death of Hangouts: A Google tragedy
Or: A Hangouts retrospective on the eve of its retirement
The transition from Hangouts to Google Chat is now happening in earnest, with many even reporting that their group conversations have moved between the two platforms. It's just a matter of time until Hangouts itself is retired, so let's take a moment to look back at Google's most successful — and, perhaps, most ignored — messaging platform.
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Google Chat may not be popular among general consumers, but it does have more use in enterprise settings, especially since G Suite admins picked up the ability to migrate to it from Hangouts earlier this year. It's a small quality of live improvement, but for teams using Google Chat, you can now set your status to away directly from Gmail.
Google announced that end-to-end encryption was coming to its RCS messaging system last month. At the time, all we knew was that the rollout would begin soon via Google's Messages app beta. Based on our reader's reports, that rollout for end-to-end encryption has now started.