Hangouts Social Networking App Review (iOS, Free)

Description

Google+ Hangouts brings one-on-one and group conversations to life with photos, emoji, and video calls for free. Connect with friends across computers, phones and tablets.

-- Say more with photos and emoji.

-- See when people are together in Hangouts, when they’re typing, or whether they’ve seen your message.

-- Turn any conversation into a video call with up to 10 friends.

-- Message friends anytime, even if they're not connected right now.

-- Use Hangouts on computers, phones, and tablets.

More Hangouts awesomeness:
-- Hangouts stay in sync across devices so you can start or continue them anywhere.
-- Choose from hundreds of emoji to help you make your point.
-- See what you talked about in the past, including shared photos and your video call history.
-- Get notifications just once. Once you see an alert, you won’t see repeats on your computer.
-- View collections of photos shared from each of your Hangouts.
-- Snooze notifications at times when you’d prefer to be undisturbed by alerts.

Notes:
-- Mobile carrier and ISP charges may apply.

Customer Reviews

• iOS 7?

  by mjxkennedy

  iOS 7 has been out for 5 months. It's time for hangouts to optimize for apple's "new" keyboard. Aside from that, this app is a whole lot better than it used to be.

• It's ok

  by Dilanboy

  The app overall is ok, but I've noticed that it really has to be updated.

• Ok

  by Denver_Doug

  Sign in process for people not on Google+ is atrocious. At a minimum should offer the same settings as default messaging app, like hiding message previews from lock screen but still telling me I have a message

• Notifications won't work

  by Abby23440

  I have it checked to get notifications but it still won't work. I've tried signing out and back in but nothing. Please fix this?

• Google please read.....

  by Stefanako

  Needs to be iOS 7 designed!!

• Needs a new tablet interface

  by ObamamabO

  The app's ipad edition is just an enlarged version of the phone app, everything appear extremely small (text, icons, pics, etc) with tons of wasted screen real estate in the middle, not acceptable for a big company like google.

• Old keyboard?

  by RafikkiPotter

  Old keyboard?

• Very good app !

  by MrWhiteSwitch

  It's a very good app that works a lot better for Audio than Skype, even if there's quite a lot of bugs to be corrected.

• Like but..

  by kiiiiiiiiiiida

  I need the send button bigger. Always have a hard time hitting it.

• Realy good

  by Love allways

  The incoming calls are fine it's a great app

• iOS 7 update

  by jccl1706

  I use daily hangout please update for iOS 7 style Thanks

• Okay But Outdated

  by BJM138

  This app isn't bad. The video calling works for the most part, except on bad internet. However, it's badly in need of a bug fix update for when it does feel, and an aesthetic change for iOS 7. Please update this soon.

• IOS 7 fix

  by RyleeHarrison

  If you going to your Xcode project. And select view controller in the sidebar. There's an option to select top bar disable it it'll get rid of the plaque bar.

• Great Features (along with some big flaws)

  by Reggae Ball

  Have to say that when you have a good multiperson video chat going it's pretty awesome! I like the ability to archive conversations as well. Someday this truly could be the ultimate texting and messaging app. The takeaway of some google talk features such as status and away messages is mind boggling, and painful to wait for at this point, but it doesn't seem like anyone else is close enough to an multi OS platform merge of texting and internet messaging (for a lack of better words). You can read all you want in other reviews about the flaws, but I left it at 5 stars because it is a great add on despite its faults and more than anything I'm excited it's potential, but hopefully don't have to wait that much longer for. I wish I could say I see that coming soon though haha

• I need Flat Icon & Big Font

  by shyjune

  Use Flat Icon! And I want to make font bigger!

• Love it

  by Edward Orde

  I can call, text and video call with all my friends FROM MY iPod!!! Gives you a phone number and everything. Super simple, but needs a little iOS7 optimizing

• Can't turn off without signing out?

  by jreviewsblahblah

  The video chat works flawlessly but I can't get past the inability to sign OFF without signing OUT. Retyping my name and password every time is a pain in the butt.

• Pretty Okay.

  by NoteBandit

  This app is another in the on-going SMS wars. We have iMessage, Facebook Messenger, etc. The most popular seems to be Kik. This app seems pretty decent. Voice calls are an issue, and if you optimize the keyboard for iOS 7 it would fit the design. The only real problem one would have is that it's not that popular amongst people. Overall, Google Hangouts is alright in my book.

• iOS KEYBOARD

  by Nishant02

  Need the iOS7 keyboard/redesign. It has been a long time. Did not expect this slow update from Google:(

• AWESOME!!!!!

  by Csb3192

  Once I figured it out, it's worth the effort.

• Update and make more stable

  by Danilopz

  Keeps crashing constantly, the notification sound is to low and is barely noticeable, ui is old, c'mon just update to ios 7

• The Dumbest of Chat Apps

  by nfagerlund

  You are going to use this app in spite of yourself because of the frustrating "hangouts" uber-merger. These are the unanswerable questions you will keep asking yourself: * Why would they make the "send" button so small and hard to hit? Is... Is there a more important button in a chat app??! What's wrong with Return? Why was inserting a line break considered important enough to sacrifice the entire UI? * Why does the scroll position keep jumping around and hiding part of my last message? * Why does coming here via a specific notification leave me at the start screen, instead of someplace relevant? Keep pondering, friend. Keep pondering.

• iOS 7 Keyboard

  by Isaiah turner

  Please update Hangouts for the iOS 7 keyboard.

• Slow. Slow. Slow.

  by Matthew Fender

  What is the point of an instant message system if there is a 5-20 second delay in updating the conversation? The app has nice, well-designed views, but the backend is incredibly slow. Fix it Google. The app and service are worthless without speed. SMS is faster than this Hangouts app - that's how bad it is.

• Horrible

  by Sam Pitt

  It's slow and still has iOS 6 elements.

• Needs better formatting

  by Treelover26

  .

• Buggy Notifications

  by chrismiller262

  For such a key Google product, this app is in dire need of an update! The iOS 6 keyboard kills me every time I see it. Not to mention the horrible battery usage and inconsistent notifications…

• APP is OUTDATE and UNSUPPORTED

  by ickimaj

  This is one sad app. Google should be the best but this is one of the poorest chat apps. Not worth downloading or using. Will stick with iMessage and other apps. Outdated keyboard. It does not even have a SEND function. One must stop typing and tap an icon in the messaging window. Emojis are embarrassingly old. Notifications rarely work.

• Starts of well

  by Please add HJ6QC9

  At first the app was working great but over time the lag in sending and receiving messages becomes atrocious. It's gets to the point were you send a message and it takes over 4 min appear in the convo and if more the. One person is talking in the convo at the same time good luck.

• Subpar app

  by MagyariBulan

  I have not used google instant messaging in the past. Otherwise I would have given it 0 stars. Multiple"Unknown contact" in the hangouts contact list with no email or phone number in the content- is this some kind of joke, google?

• Could be better

  by Baron Von Funboy

  Biggest missing feature: the ability to send a message using the enter key on a Bluetooth keyboard. Don't use it because of this issue, just too cumbersome.

• iOS7 Update!

  by FelDC

  Please update this app to iOS 7 it really looks ugly!

• App is Dead, No Support

  by Duckmygoose6y

  It still uses the classic keyboard, what more do you need to know.

• Disgusted

  by :):(:):(:):(

  I can't believe that it is taking so long for Google, one of the largest technology companies, to update their chat app. I really want to like Hangouts for iOS, but I can't. The iOS 6 keyboard is ugly, and the iOS 6 elements are outdated and glitchy.

• Very confusing to use, interferes with regular Gchat

  by asdf5137

  not user friendly

• Pretty bad longstanding issues.

  by akcpe

  Notifications are horrible. Badges always inaccurate. Messages update slowly. Hangouts in general are much less useful than the old gchat.

• BLECK

  by Agent Dragonfly

  TERRIBLE...all I can see is my most recent chat? No Home Screen? Who the heck is on line? I miss GTalk & Latitude + increase ADs when I Google I NEVER dreamed I would begin phasing out Google, in my life, but I am

• Poor excuse for an app

  by Dakulick

  I would give it a zero if that was possible. It updates so poorly with the desktop version of google showing active conversations that ended hours before. It's ugly and buggy. I would not expect this from google. Just another reason to text or use another communication medium.

• Needs to fix major bug

  by Nick199991

  App won't work upon setup

• Terrible App

  by Bachue

  Don't use it if you're not a fans of Gtalk. Ugly UI, slow response, incompatible for iPad actually, just stretched for iPad.

• Notifications/Badge still inconsistent

  by Nick Pafundi

  The badge number is rarely correct. I keep most hangouts muted and only check when I have time. However, the badge count is typically wrong, many time showing new messages when there are none. The app is incredibly slow to update and refresh conversations (even after clearly receiving a notification). It does not always save state, and sometimes will do a complete reload rather than showing the old conversations. If I'm trying to reference something, there is no need to completely reload all conversations. The status/read buddy icons (showing whether people have read messages) disappear completely at random times. When this happens, you also cannot tell whether someone is typing. The UI isn't great either...but that's my opinion so it didn't negatively affect their rating.

• A MSGing App that Doesn't Alert?

  by jmbeethe

  This app would be wonderful if it actually alerted me when I get msgs. It only vibrates even though I have the in-app sounds turned on. Fix this bug and I'll be a bigger fan :/ Very disgruntled right now.

• Disappointing

  by rivet123456

  Just seems buggy and unpolished.

• Wow....

  by Epicdraconess

  So I got this app to replace Skype. Biggest mistake. I can use chat fine, but when it comes to video calling..... It's a fail

• Awful

  by sirlapogkahn

  Horrible app. Slow, wonky and ugly.

• Update!

  by 96kiloblips

  This app is slow, ugly and constantly is trying to send feedback with a stupid shake gesture.

• Junk

  by Dan84EvH

  Google should be ashamed of themselves for giving iOS such a garbage version of this app.

• Uh

  by Geewunders

  Makes my iPhone 4S really hot (literally in temperature). It's also very slow.

• Silent mode is a cruel joke

  by IamNotInToInquisitiveNicknames

  Turn your iPhone to silent/mute mode Wear headphones. someone pings you! Go deaf. Why is it so difficult to respect the device settings? And no matter how I seat the headphones volume to be, the ping is at its loudest. Its one reason I hate this very useful app.

• Unacceptably slow

  by Bombgigazord

  Loading messages is slow -and sending messages is slower. I only use this app because there's no better alternative.

• Just horrible needs to be fixed

  by Mac 340

  There's too many bugs I cannot even count google hangout on the computer is fine this app just needs to be modified google please fix this

• Broken

  by Hungout

  The ability to join hangouts from direct Urls does not work. It is near impossible to join an existing hangout you've been invited to. Opening a hangout URL goes to safari and then hangouts, but does not join even after selecting an account. Very disapoonted.

• Come on guys, issue a fix

  by Wolf Bird

  The in-app sounds turning themselves back on is really driving me insane. There is absolutely no reason for that to be happening. Come on. Fix this.

• Awesome

  by  CosOne

  This app is awesome!!

• Good

  by DinoSawr44

  This app is awesome but it isn't working with iOS seven or my iPod. It used to work when I had the old iOS but not anymore. Please fix it; it's a really great app! Also, it takes a while to download the messages. I'll be chatting with someone and they'll email me asking why I didn't answer my question. I'll have to refresh the app and by then it's already been ten minutes.

• Suuuuuuppppeeerrrrr ssllllooooooowwwwe

  by AbqSlim1

  Can't believe how lame this app is. Feels like an app made 6 years ago. Just barely works.

• Hangouts On-Air

  by JWord_J-Word

  I really would like to do Hangouts On-Air and live stream conversations on my iPod. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO DO THIS, PLUS IT WOULD MAKE THE APP SO MUCH BETTER THAN IT IS!!!!

• Blurriness,lagginess,voice lagginess

  by Sarai2139

  I like the app but when your on a video chat it's laggy,blurry and the voice lags.

• Hangouts

  by Inoall

  It won't let me do the faces but it is easier to use then email

• Shake to feedback incredibly annoying

  by louiegp

  Other google products allow this to be disabled, this one does not. Incredibly annoying and inconsistent, like stuff Microsoft is known for!!

• So they planned to end google voice

  by zmyr88

  Does not allow answering of phone calls. Hangs or goes to main page. Talkatone worked great. This never takes a incoming call. So apperently now mobiles cant use google voice. Google in time will go out of business after the infuriate enough of their customer base. They alrady gon back on the dont be evil thing

• Use Talkatone

  by nim6us

  Save yourself some headache and just get Talkatone instead.

• Pretty good!

  by Itslya

  Easy to use and all my messages actually go through!

• Mediocre

  by ad3e

  Badly needs an iOS 7 update! Very buggy. Keeps hanging while typing/ sending IMs. Keyboard is dated. (Not that big a deal but this is google's app after all- hence expected more).

• Bad

  by Naoufalel

  You really need to update this app and make it compatible with iOS 7 and also for tablets, you should keep in mind that this is one of the rare app of chat on iPad, so Google make your best with this one !!!

• Needs to be updated

  by Cupcakec333

  I would really like an iOS7 update. Otherwise, its a pretty good app. There are some bugs, but it works fine.

• (:

  by curryswag

  Nice format and speedy, but I can't see who is online or offline, a major necessity for me. Icons needed!

• Needs Improvement

  by Alexx Zander

  I really love hangouts on all my devices, on my iPhone sending messages are delayed and the keyboard has not yet been updated with the new iOS 7 UI, even after all this time, please continue to improve this app, I really do like it a lot!

• terrible

  by bleomycin

  agree with everyone, just terrible.

• Mediocre.

  by crookedtimes

  Only using this app to communicate with my two friends that refuse to get an iPhone. Sending any sort of message feels like a task (slow, even on wifi), it still has the pre-iOS 7 keyboard, and just doesn't look polished. I understand Google is wanting to make Hangouts their own iMessage, but they'll never get that big if they want to include other mobile OS systems and not fully support them.

• Google fail!!

  by Hugeasian

  Please add functionality to hide or sort by users that are online like google chat has. This app is unusable without that simple function!!! Try to get the basic functions right before trying to do everything. Gotta walk before you run or you will fall on your face like this app

• iOS 7?

  by teaboneski

  How about an iOS 7 update? i.e. New keyboard, design elements, etc.

• Needs iOS 7 Update!!!

  by unTAM3Dx

  Looks and feels odd and outdated with the rest of the phone since all of the apps having a iOS 7 look, also my iPhone 5 gets very warm when making video and voice calls and will not charge when ruining the app.

• Bad

  by GreenyGlow

  Worst app

• Can't sign in!

  by Davidz8

  Yeah, when I try to sign in it gives me an authentication error message. Can't rate it if I can't get on!

• Good

  by DinoSawr44

  This app is awesome but it isn't working with iOS seven or my iPod. It used to work when I had the old iOS but not anymore. Please fix it; it's a really great app!

• Terrible after a few uses

  by Disciplefreak

  This app needs to be fixed ASAP...lagging with sending msgs a lately...waste of my time

• Some issues

  by DallasSalad96

  Needs and update for bug fixes and new iOS 7 support.

• Great App, but one suggestion...

  by Danian Heron

  Optimize the app for iOS 7

• Unusable

  by Braydanboy

  Even since the first version, this app has had horrible horrible lag on group chats, the only reason I use this app.

• Sound

  by Bey543

  The app is not as bad as others are saying. It does has some kinks that need to be worked on, I only have a compliant about the notification sound. If I'm not around my phone or iPad I don't know I have a message because the sound isn't a distinct sound. Volume is up all be way but still can't hear it like other notifications.

• Continually having to log back in.

  by pdc1

  This app is nice when it works, which is RARELY! I'll get a notification that someone has messaged me, and more than half the time I'll open Hangouts only to be greeted by the "get started" screen, despite having logged in previously. With 2-step verification this is a real PITA as you also need to have the authentication code ready too, in addition to your login details. It's been this way for months and months, with no sign of a solution. C'mon Google, get on the ball!

• Very bad

  by Udhab

  Full of bugs, painfully slow & outdated UI.

• Poor job

  by martinip

  Buggy Slow The design is meh This app has no redeeming qualities!

• Cool and good app

  by Chocogunslinger

  I like the app I think you should be able to save photos though.

• Great intent, poor execution

  by Boomhauer728

  Using this on an iPhone, iPad Air and Motorola Droid RAZR provides a terrible user experience on all platforms for the same reason: lag! Every time you open the app, you have to wait for ~10 seconds while it loads. This is not acceptable! I can open text messaging SO much faster. You must know the stats about app usage rate being correlated to lag or a slow user experience I only imagine that NO ONE uses this because of this issue. I love the concept, but this one issue makes the app unacceptable for me.

• коррективы

  by Sander Cutcher

  Сделайте поддержку отправки местоположения для iOS

• Glitchy Chat

  by Anon dissatisfied customer

  Every single time I've ever tried to chat with people, this app has always disconnected me. I've never gotten through a full chat which is what I was primarily using this for. In al honesty this app doesn't deserve any stars. I really expected more from google but I downloaded the app months ago and they still haven't updated to fix any glitches. Very disappointing.

• Pretty Good for an Average App

  by Nomineesrock

  I usually have a conversation with 5-9 people so this is really useful to me! I wish that there was an Enter button on the keyboard instead of the tiny arrow. That is my major irk. The conversation connection is rarely slow. Video call performs a little above average except the mute doesn't work well. I recommend you should get it.

• We want UPDATE!

  by topvase

  Please update the keyboard at least. Come on Google, take care of your products!

• Uses data instead if wifi

  by Hjohnsen

  If you have data turned off for this then it's a nice app, but it often uses data for video chatting even when there is a strong wifi connection available. Consider yourself warned! Never pick up a video chat without first turning off data!

• A Zero!!! Lack of status change = worthless app

  by Veetee2014

  I just upgraded my samsung and as a result google talk deleted and $h!++y google hangouts appeared. I do not understand why you think this is an adequate replacement for talk. when you going to last status updates under Google hangouts Like are on Google talk? Perhaps there's a new app coming out where people IMing you can you read your mind and find out if you're busy or not before they ding you out of your work cycle. Since I'm not aware yet of Google's mind reading app what is the point of an application you can't update status or easily log out of. As a personal and enterprise user, I need to be able to communicate my status if I'm available, in a meeting or DND when I need to focus on a task at hand. Google can do practically anything so why not a simple status update feature?

• Google Voice interface extremely poor

  by athenaeum1

  The vast majority of the time I'm using this app for Google Voice calls. For the call interface, there is a TON of real estate in the middle of the screen that is not being used, but the mute, audio and keypad buttons are small and smashed below the end call button which makes it very easy to accidentally hang up a call rather than mute the line

• Too slow

  by arryzs0fly617

  I use this app to talk to a few of my friends but it is ridiculously slow. Every time I go into the app it seems to refresh for a long time before the messages come through. I will be uninstalling until the problem is resolved. As I don't use this app anymore because of this problem.

• Too slow for a messaging app.

  by Night_Rider

  The more I use this app and the Gmail app the more I am annoyed by them. First, it should remember my place in the app when I go away and come back. I will be in the middle of a conversation, leave to safari for a few minutes and when i get back I welcomed first with a preview of the conversation I was in (tempting me) then all of a sudden the big green hangouts splash page and I am back in my inbox. Frustrating. This is even worse in the gmail app. Second, it can take anywhere from a few seconds to minutes to load up my conversations if I have been away for any time. If I have a poor connection it won't let me see any of my old messages or send new ones until everything has loaded.

• Slowest loading app on my ipad

  by Nick46789975

  Takes FOREVER to load. Kinda make "quick easy communication" impossible when I need a minute to just open the app. That little colored ball is being the google equivalent of the pinwheel of death.

• Needs update.

  by Breyyyyyyy123

  Needs to update to the iOS7 format. This is the only app I have that hasn't updated.

• So slow

  by jakegnyc

  Two major problems: has to reload all messages on every open, and barely differentiates between read and unread messages.

• No iOS 7 update!!

  by Tatayoinc

  It's a very usefull app, but it's annoying to use it with the old keyboard... You must update this app!

• Terrible App

  by jsabin

  Only works occasionally. Keeps disconnecting from the google server. Does not show all pending hangout events.

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