Back in February, we noticed in a teardown for the Google Voice app that support for text messages originally sent via Hangouts was coming to the app. Note, this is for SMS sent over the Google Voice system, not the old Hangouts SMS integration that died last year. Based on recent reports, that feature is now rolling out to a wider audience.
Read MoreGoogle Voice v5.10 adds voicemail greeting management
Google spent years ignoring Google Voice, but it finally revamped the app and website in 2017. It also promised to keep the updates coming, and it's been doing that so far. In the latest update to the Voice app, you can finally manage your voicemail greeting from the app. Yeah, that should have happened around 2009 or so, but better late than never.
Read MoreGoogle Voice integration with Sprint will end on June 1st
Google and Sprint got together in 2011 to offer a fully integrated Google Voice experience on the carrier. You could place calls with your Sprint number but have all the benefits of Google Voice like call forwarding to multiple numbers, voicemail transcriptions, call recording, and so on. Then, Google forgot Google Voice existed for a few years. The Sprint integration worked even after Google relaunched Voice in 2017, but now it's shutting down. As of June 1st, Voice integration on Sprint is no more.
Read More[Update: Beta now live] Google Voice recruiting testers for new Wi-Fi (or mobile data) calling feature
For mobile users juggling a bunch of different devices, Google Voice can be something of a godsend. Not only does it let you share a single point of contact through which people can reach you no matter which phone or tablet you're carrying at the moment, but it does so without requiring the party on the other end to install a specific app — everything travels over regular voice calls and text messages. While that's great for compatibility, there are a number of reasons why you might not want to rely so heavily on the voice-call network, from running low on your monthly minute allocation, to difficulty finding a reliable cellular signal.
Read MoreGoogle Voice v5.9 prepares voicemail greetings to be recorded in-app [APK Teardown]
Good things are happening with Google Voice. While the app normally stays fairly quiet, the last few months have shown a lot of positive attention is going into the service. The surface-level changes in this update aren't too major, but a teardown shows that users will soon get a vastly improved voicemail system that features on-device recording and support for multiple messages.
Read MoreUpdate Notes for Android Wear, Play Store, Maps, YouTube and YouTube Kids, Project Fi, and more (Mar 4, 2018)
Every week, I examine somewhere in the neighborhood of a hundred app updates while looking for changes. The most interesting things turn into APK Teardowns or Download posts. Many of the remaining updates are unremarkable, amounting to a few bug fixes, routine updates to libraries, or even just pixel-level adjustments to layouts and images. However, there are usually a few updates that land somewhere in between. I don't want to spam readers with dozens of short posts, but I hate to ignore things that people might want to know about, so I'm going to wrap up the leftovers for a little weekend reading and call it Update Notes.
Read More[Update: Official changelog] Google Voice v5.7 prepares to enable VoIP directly within the app [APK Teardown]
Google has been dabbling in the realm of Internet-based calling for years. First it was Gmail, then Hangouts got in on the action. While there were ways (and even third-party products) to use the Google Voice service for VoIP, it was probably the least enjoyable calling experience we've seen that didn't involve MacGyver-style shorting of exposed wires to dial a number. Now an update to the Google Voice app reveals that it's finally going to make its VoIP capabilities an official feature, and it'll be usable directly from your phone without any hacky workarounds.
Read MoreGoogle Voice 5.5 adds billing history [APK Download]
While I can't use Google Voice myself, I see a lot of positive feelings for the service online. And now the Android app will be getting just a little bit more approval thanks to a handy addition: billing history.
If you use Google Voice for placing calls, you'll be able to track your available credit through the app's Settings > Billing history. There, you'll find your recent activity with each call, its date and time, duration, how much it cost you, and your balance after it was over.
Read MoreThe Best Of AP
Google Voice v5.4 update remembers your last tab and lets you top-up credit
Google Voice is an invaluable tool, even if it still has a few quirks. It makes juggling multiple numbers just a little bit easier and provides a great cross-platform voicemail and messaging tool independent from your carrier. And the Google Voice app for Android was recently updated with two new features. Now when the app is re-opened, it can resume from the last tab you had open, and you can now top-up Google Voice credit from the app itself.
Read More"OK Google, send a Google Voice message" command is coming soon to help those with Google Voice numbers
Some of you exclusively use their Google Voice (GV) numbers, some have differentiated between friends and colleagues by giving their regular number and GV number separately to each set of contacts, and some might use the GV number occasionally for a few contacts only. Regardless of your case, sending texts from that GV number has been pretty hit-and-miss when it comes to Android Auto, Android Wear, and Assistant. But that should be fixed soon.
As explained by several complaining users in this support thread, if you have a Google Voice number and you set it as the default SMS number in Hangouts then set Hangouts as your default SMS app, when you're using Android Auto and you say, "OK Google, send a text," the command will forego your defaults and just issue a regular SMS text through your carrier number.
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