Version 4.0 of Google's Hangouts app for iOS is now live, bringing new features and an upgraded user interface with Material Design guidelines.
Hangouts 4.0 for iOS adds a slew of neat new features aiming to enhance the overall experience, making everything faster and smoother. At the same time, the user interface (UI) now mirrors the Material Design layout Google introduced with its Android 5.0 Lollipop, delivering a cleaner look.
The updated app hit iTunes on Monday, June 29, and Google UI designer Sky Ortiz shared some exciting details on his Google+ account. The biggest difference this update brings to the table is the user interface. The first thing users will notice when opening the app is a flatter and cleaner look, the iconic green colors, and a new chat view that's more reader-friendly.
The new update also brings a new menu system placed at the bottom of the screen when opening a chat window, where a pop-up message displays the various options - send a Hangouts message or make a voice or video call.
The floating action buttons at the bottom of the screen are also borrowed from Material Design, adding to the distinctive look of the app. One of the biggest improvements, meanwhile, relates to attachments. While previously users had to select the paperclip button to see the options for sending attachments, the new Hangouts for iOS now displays photos, camera, stickers and location neatly organized in a strip below the text-input area. Users can now capture and share still images and video straight from the Hangouts app, which is an added bonus.
Moreover, a new gallery option now makes it easier to share images stored on your phone, and allows users to share multiple images at once. The video chat view gets an overhaul as well. Lastly, a new Dialer UI aims to improve the phone calling experience.
As expected, the latest version of Hangouts for iOS also adds a number of bug fixes and performance enhancements to improve the overall experience.
Ortiz further notes that Hangouts for Android will receive an update soon as well, but did not mention an exact rollout date. For now, iOS users can download the latest version of Hangouts from iTunes and try out the new features.
