Hangouts will lose SMS support in May

Per an email from Google that was posted to Reddit earlier today, Hangouts will be losing SMS support on May 22nd. Until then, users will receive a notification asking them to switch to a different messaging app every time they open Hangouts. Google has a history of frequently deemphasizing products in favor of new ones. This time, it appears Google is attempting to promote one of their other messaging apps, Android Messages.

Unfortunately, removing SMS support from Hangouts only serves to further fragment communication on Android devices. Those who use Google's messaging services will now have to switch between up to four different apps: Hangouts, Android Messages, Allo, and Duo. Google Fi and Voice users won't have to make any changes though; those services will continue to work in Hangouts. Coincidentally, the discontinuation date is just a few days after Google's I/O event. Could Google have a fully-integrated messaging app in the works?

Here's a copy of the email a Google Suite administrator received about the changes: 

Hello Administrator,

Last year, we announced several improvements to the most popular features of Google Hangouts, such as the new video meetings experience and better group chat messaging. As part of that ongoing effort, we will be removing carrier SMS text messaging from Hangouts on Android after May 22, 2017.

Note: Google Voice numbers will continue to be supported after May 22. This change only applies to SMS text messages sent and received from carrier phone numbers.

We will prepare users for this change by showing an in-app message beginning March 27, 2017. Here is what users will see:

SMS is moving out of Hangouts 2.png

For SMS users on Hangouts on Android (not including Google Voice)

Users will be prompted to choose another default messaging app already installed on their phone. If none exists, they will be directed to the Google Play store to find a new SMS messaging app. Choosing a new messaging app will not impact existing SMS messages. All messages will be accessible in the new messaging app.

For SMS users using Google Voice on Hangouts on Android Google Voice users who also send carrier SMS messages will need to choose another default messaging app. Their Google Voice messages will be unaffected and will still be available in Google Hangouts.

For Google Voice users on Hangouts on Android Google Voice users who do not use carrier SMS text messaging will not be affected and no notification will be shown.

For non-SMS users on Hangouts on Android No notification will be shown to users who do not have Hangouts enabled as the default SMS messenger app on their device.

What you should do As a result of this change, you may receive questions from affected users. We've identified the users (copied below) who will be affected at your domain xxxxxx.com. You can share this Help Center article if users have any questions. If you have additional questions or need assistance, please contact G Suite support.

Sincerely,

The G Suite Team © 2017 Google Inc. 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043

You have received this important update about your G Suite account because you designated this email address as a primary or secondary contact for mandatory service communications in your Google Admin console profile.

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