Classic Hangouts is/was a lot of things. Sadly it was too many things. The new Chat has very similar Gmail integration, so if they ever get it out to consumer, it hopefully won't be a big change for people.
Re:Google Duo rolls out realtime AV1
by dbbk on Wednesday April 22, 2020 @06:50AM
(#22944207)
Hangouts has come a long way... it started out as a 'drop-in group video' feature for Google+. The idea being you could "hangout" with your friends by just starting a room and then anyone who saw it could join you. Basically Houseparty.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/9/21215588/google-chat-hango...
It is effectively a slack or teams competitor.
Classic Hangouts is/was a lot of things. Sadly it was too many things. The new Chat has very similar Gmail integration, so if they ever get it out to consumer, it hopefully won't be a big change for people.