Google announced today a few changes to the Hangouts Chat app that will make it more straightforward to find group conversations and contacts. These updates are coming both to Android and iOS devices.
The revamp splits the Rooms and People tabs into separate tabs so that each list of conversation gets its dedicated window. Bots are also categorized under the People tab.
Prior to the update, all three groups were displayed in a single view, which made it a bit time-consuming to look for people or group you"ve chatted with.
Still, as part of the update, the Hangouts Chat app has gotten rid of the filter floating at the top of the window previously. That filter served to let users search for people, rooms, and bots. Now, there"s just a magnifying glass icon for finding those types of conversations.
Also, you can create a new conversation using the plus button placed at the bottom right corner. The button is consistent with Google"s Material Theme, and it"s easier to locate compared to the previous design.
These updates are rolling out to iOS from today while Android users will have to wait until September 30. The new design is turned on by default, so you won"t have to do anything once the update arrives.