Google asks the existing Hangout user to switch to Google’s chat.
While the transition is almost complete for business users, Google encourages personal account holders to switch to Google Chat.
They were greeted with blue banners that read “Hangouts are being replaced by Google Chat.” ‘Forced transition’ by Google has not been well received by many users.
Aftermath is a bombing of Google Chat reviews on the Play Store.
Application rating (when writing this article) has dropped to 2.8.
This review shows that Google Chat does not have customization options, does not support SMS and stickers, that it does not have a special browser gallery to install the media.
While one calls Google Chat ‘worse than Hangouts’, the other says that it is ‘downgrade from Hangouts and surprisingly unfuried for something Google actively encourages us to use it.’ “Using Google Chat like having a new car taken.
And forced to drive a much older vehicle is not in a good repair” write one of the users about the Google Chat application.
Google, in its part, responded to this feedback and convinced them to repairs.
Responding to one reviewer, Google wrote “Hi, Mark.
Thank you for taking the time to give feedback.
We are sorry to hear it.
We will continue this to the team so they can review and make a better chat application.
We ask you to send feedback inside Chat application by clicking the menu button then ‘Help & Feedback’ and tap ‘Send feedback’.
Thank you.
” Google has not officially announced the final date for a free account using Hangouts classic.
For now, it only tells users every time they open hangouts on their cellphones.
As for the company, “Mandatory Upgrade” will occur at the end of 2021.