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Google’s Hangouts app just received some awesome new smart features

Published Dec 10th, 2014 4:00PM EST
Hangouts for Android Features
Image: Screenshots | Google

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Google on Wednesday announced a special update for its Hangouts app that will offer users various interesting new features, including an awesome new smart tool to help users better focus on communicating with friends and family, rather than dealing with other smartphone chores when having to answer to certain questions.

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Hangouts for Android comes with a smart location sharing feature that’ll be able to automatically assist you with your location-sharing needs, without you having to change apps.

In a Google Now-like manner, Hangouts will now be able to offer smart suggestions in conversations, with the first one being location data.

“When you’re trying to meet up with friends in real life and someone asks, ‘Where are you?’, Hangouts can now understand what you need and offer to help. You’ll see a one-tap option to share your location right in the conversation, without you needing to hunt around in a map, drop a pin and send your position,” Google’s Rhett Robinson said on Google+.

Obviously, you’ll have to let Google listen in on those Hangouts conversations to use the feature, just like you let Google access personal data for Google Now to work.

Other features included in this Hangouts update include 16 new sticker packs, new video filters for video chats, and “last seen” timestamps that tell you when your friends are actually online and available to chat.

More details about this Hangouts for Android update are available at the source links below.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.