Google has introduced voice calling to the Google Hangouts app, much to the delight of Android users everywhere. Google began the process of making Hangouts more than just an instant messaging app not that long ago by integrating SMS into the Android app. It’s the marriage of Google Voice and Hangouts that we’ve all been waiting for!
With the newest version of Hangouts and a new Hangouts Dialer app, you can now make calls directly from the app. The app uses your Google Voice number to make the call, and lets you receive voicemail from Voice as well. All the action takes place right in the app, which is as clean and organized as ever. It’s only on Android devices right now, but I’m told that the functionality is coming to users on iOS and the web shortly.
That means free voice calls to any other Hangouts users, as well as free VoIP calls to cells and landlines in the U.S. and Canada. If you’re looking to make international calls, Hangouts does that too, utilizing the same rates and account balance as Google Voice. Google’s been cutting rates for international calls, so you might want to put a little cash on your Voice account if you’ve got someone to call outside of the U.S.
Grab the Hangouts Dialer app here. If you don’t have the newest version of Hangouts installed, don’t worry, Dialer will prompt you to upgrade as soon as its installed.
Enjoy!