Ever since Google replaced Gtalk with Hangouts, the company has been finding ways to keep the social messaging app as updated as possible by introducing new features such as merging SMS conversations from the same senders, and has also gotten an optimisation for business use. Google’s efforts on Hangouts is set to continue by revamping it with a new interface, and also adding a rather “Facebook Messenger” twist to it.
Facebook Messenger Mobile App Chat Heads
The information was initially retrieved from a German tech blog called Caschys Blog. According to the blog, an experiment codenamed “Ultra Violet” suggests that the new Hangouts in the leaked images will be an experimental extension of the Chrome desktop browser. It seems as though there will definitely be a significant overhaul to the app.
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The revamped Hangouts will feature floating rounded icons of friends from your circle on your desktop. Similar to Facebook Messenger’s Chat Heads on mobile platforms, you will be able to freely move the icons around the corners of the screen, and also a floating access button to the desktop app itself.
Clicking on your friends’ icons will bring you to the new standalone window interface of Hangouts where all the familiar faces of your friends’ conversation tabs will reside. When you are done with a chat, you can dismiss the conversation by dragging the bubble icon off your screen.
For now, “Ultra Violet” is far from being ready to be rolled out to the masses, as obviously these leaks show the revamp is still in testing. But it would be interesting to see how Google would make this floating bubble interface work on desktops.
[Source: Android Police, Caschys Blog]
