Hangouts has become Google’s main solution for communication. It can handle instant messages, video calls, text messages and even calls. The service has replaced many other apps, leaving us wondering what apps could disappear. We have been expecting Google to get rid of Google Voice, but we never knew when. It seems the day may come soon.
The guys at 9to5Google have gotten word from internal sources. It seems Google is now getting ready to kill Voice and add all its features to Hangouts for both Android and iOS. We have no specific dates, but the sources state the changes are “months out”.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see this being one of the announcements at Google IO, but we are not sure. We just have to wait it out and see.
We believe this will change everything. It’s already a big deal that iOS users can make calls via Hangouts (using the Google Voice number). Also replacing traditional text messaging with Google Voice text messaging would be a big deal. This would mean users would be able to pay less for voice/text plans (or even get rid of them) and just use data.
The carriers control everything in the USA, and we can’t see them being happy about Google’s move. We are not sure how the big carriers would react, but many of their plans already offer unlimited text and calls, anyways. Traditional voice calls and text messages are phasing out, and that’s something no one can stop. We are moving in the internet age.
