Hangouts v7.0 APK Download Now Available With Major Improvements

Android: Google’s Hangouts app is a handy, if somewhat lacking messenger app. Now, it’s getting quick replies and home screen shortcuts for specific contacts.

With Hangouts 7.0, users will be able to “Send and receive both Hangouts and text messages (SMS/MMS) and switch easily between message types”. Google has also begun pointing people towards using an SMS app outside of Hangouts as well. The update is rolling out now from the Play Store.

There’s a number of visual tweaks to the overall design of Hangouts, with more Material Design creeping in to replace the older Holo style in settings, checkboxes are now sliders etc. But overall, it’s mostly the Quick Reply feature that’s the big news in this release. Quick Reply will allow Hangouts messages to not only appear within your notifications pull-down menu, but will allow you to tap the Reply button to return a message with minimal effort. Tapping reply from a notification will pop up the keyboard and a message box. However, the option for replying is only available when the message is unread. Meanwhile, Google wants you to switch over to Google Messenger as your default texting app, so you can also expect some pop-ups that advise you to make that switch.

Another notable addition to Hangouts with today’s update is the ability to add a conversation shortcut to your home screen. All calls to other Hangouts users are free. For those unwilling to wait can download it from APK Mirror.