It looks as though Hangouts will join a growing list of Google chat products to bite the dust. After years of indications that such a move could be imminent, Google may finally be shutting down its Hangouts platform for consumers.<\/b>
\nIt looks as though Hangouts will join a growing list of Google chat products to bite the dust. After years of indications that such a move could be imminent, Google may finally be shutting down its Hangouts platform for consumers.
Citing a source \u201cfamiliar with the product\u2019s internal roadmap,\u201d 9to5Google reported Friday that the end of Hangouts for consumers will arrive \u201csometime in 2020.\u201d The site noted Google\u2019s announcement last year of a shift to an enterprise focus with G Suite\u2019s Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet as an early sign that such a decision was forthcoming. But there were other warning signs as well, according to 9to5Google:
Google has indicated for years now that it planned to position Hangouts as a competitor to workplace chat apps like Slack. As 9to5Google noted, there hasn\u2019t been any movement on development for the app in some time, and Google removed Hangouts\u2019 support for SMS in May of last year.
As the Verge noted at the time, the move made sense considering the significant number of chat apps under the Google umbrella, including Google Duo, Android Messages, and Google Allo. There\u2019s also Chat, its RCS product that is expected to launch with Verizon in 2019.
Given that the rumored death of Hangouts is still more than a year out, any devotees of the platform have ample time to make peace with its reported demise.
A spokesperson for Google didn\u2019t immediately return Gizmodo\u2019s request for comment about the report, but we\u2019ll update this post if we hear back.
[ 9to5Google]<\/p>\n