Google killing Gchat, replacing it with Hangouts

PanARMENIAN.Net - Google Talk — affectionally known as “Gchat” — is finally getting replaced for good. Google actually released Hangouts back in 2013 as a more feature-filled chat service to take the place of Talk in the Gmail sidebar, but users have been able to stick with the older, more basic service if they chose, The Verge reports.

That’s changing on June 26, when anyone still using Gchat will be forcibly transitioned over to Hangouts. It’s not a major change for most — there will still be chat built into Gmail, contacts will transition over, and Google has been trying to get people to switch over to Hangouts for the last four years, so maybe it’s time for Talk to go. The Google Talk Android app will also stop functioning, as will any third-party apps designed for Talk. (Again, anything using Hangouts — which is essentially the same thing — will still be fine.)

Google has at least seven other messaging services that you can use, including Allo, Duo, Hangouts, Android Messages, Voice, and Supersonic Fun Voice Messenger, so you’ve got plenty of other options to use going forward.

Google also confirmed that it will be removing SMS support from Hangouts (as previously rumored), and encouraging Android users to switch over to the newly renamed Android Messages app. It’s a move that speaks both to Google’s increasing push for RCS messaging, as well as the company’s ambitions to reposition Hangouts into a viable business messaging tool to take on competitors like Slack.