Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Hangouts service has been overhauled and will be split into two – Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet. While the focus of Hangouts Chat will be business productivity and workplace chat, the focus of Hangouts Meet will be corporate video conferencing.
Though Google Hangouts has in the past been accused of lacking a clear identity and strategy, the overhaul seems to have solved the problem. With both being the enterprise counterparts to Google tools that are aimed at the consumer such as Duo and Allo, the overhaul will now see Google taking on Slack and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Teams with the two Hangouts products in a more focused manner.
Productivity software
Besides working natively on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS, Android and the web, Hangouts Chat will also possess deep integration with Google Sheets and Docs. Document permissions can be assigned automatically depending on which team created them. The Hangouts Chat app will also have a search feature which will allow users to filter by links, file types, people and rooms. There will also be some extensible options including allowing third parties to build apps that are integrated with Hangouts Chat.
RTC standard
With Hangouts Meet, the highest number of participants who can be feature in a video chat is 30. While using the Firefox browser or the Chrome browser, installation of a plugin will not be required for users since the two already support the Web’s RTC standard. But since Apple’s Safari and Microsoft’ Edge do not, users will have to install a plugin in order to use Hangouts Meet.
Hangouts Meet also comes with an improved way of setting up or joining a video meeting. Users who don’t feature on the invite will just be required to ‘knock’ and request to join. A dial-in number will also be offered to enterprise customers automatically without requiring a plugin from a third party. On an Android or an iOS device, users will also be able to get the meeting ID required for dialing and start the Hangouts app on their device by just tapping the entry on the calendar.
On Thursday shares of Alphabet Inc rose by 0.49% to close the day at $857.84.
