When it comes to messaging, Google is an absolute threat. It’s worth noting that the company has launched a dozen messengers over the past 15.5 years as it officially ditched its long-standing Hangouts app. Some of them have long and confusing life cycles. Others died a swift and ignominious death. To make matters worse, many were developed and started in parallel with each other, creating strange redundancies for users.
So why are there so many? So what exactly is Google doing here? That is the eternal mystery.
Apple (iMessages has been tweaked over time and has become a trusted favorite of millions) and Meta (which acquired WhatsApp in 2014 and quickly turned it into the most popular messaging app on the planet) Google’s strategy seems like an odd goose chase of epic proportions when compared to companies like Google.com. Turning to random voices on the internet for interpretation, I came across a few potential answers to this enduring mystery, as one of him on Reddit explained:
There was a time when there was google. of The company you thought would dominate the messaging market. More than any of its competitors at the time, Google had the brand image and technology to push its messaging solutions. But what Google didn’t know is that while disruption is a business strategy in Silicon Valley, disrupting your own business is a silly idea.
Hmm, interesting thought, Webland. Another Redditor got even more analytical.
“[They have a dozen messenger apps] …because the organizational structure and performance review mechanism are not well-suited to a coherent product strategy. People are promoted not to maintain and steadily support existing products, but to release new products. ”
Yet another Armchair commentator kept things basic:
“If you throw a lot of crap at the wall, something should stick to it, right?”
Whatever the reason, Google has certainly developed a reputation when it comes to surprising the world with its endless messaging applications. The company has gone through too many turns and rebrands to write it all down here, but it compiles some of the most prominent platforms and applications in the tech giant’s long history of failed product strategies. I decided to click through and get confused.
First there was…Google Talk (2005-2010)
Image: Wikimedia Commons/Google
Wayyyyy, before all the chaos and back and forth, there was Google Talk. It was launched by Google in 2005 as his first standalone messaging service. Talk was primarily an instant messenger, but could also make voice calls. Over time, users of Google’s service began calling it “Google Chat” or simply “GChat”, and OG GChat was born. This story continued for several years until other of his Google products overtook and replaced it. Little did users know that when they started using the client, they were at the beginning of a very long and bumpy road.
Early Birth and Early Death in Google Wave (2009)
Photo: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP, Getty Images
Google introduced Google Wave, a “communication and collaboration tool” similar to Slack, in 2009 as an alternative to email. The idea was to allow users to create separate conversations between different groups based on specific topics. At launch, Wave was heralded as the way to the future, but unfortunately the app didn’t last long. In 2010, Google stopped active development of Wave, citing a lack of “user adoption”. As I pointed out earlier, most people didn’t know what Wave was, didn’t know how to use it, and didn’t understand why it was being pushed. The application was officially retired in 2012 and the project was later taken over by the Apache Foundation and eventually abandoned. RIP, sweet Wave, was gone before there was a better version of Slack.
Winning Breakthrough: Google Hangouts (2013-2022)
Image: Google
We’ve been building messaging apps for years, but we just couldn’t build one integrated messenger that everyone wants to use. In 2013, Google finally launched Google Hangouts, the most successful messaging platform to date. Originally born out of the Google+ video service, Hangouts was eventually pitched as a replacement for Google Talk. Google Talk was dying a busy death during this time. By 2015, Google officially retired Talk and instructed users to move to Hangouts for the time being. Offering instant messaging, video calling, and other useful features, Hangouts has had many ups and downs, but it was Google’s longest-running and most successful messaging application ever until its recent demise. .
Allo and Duo (2016)
Photo: Florence Ion/Gizmodo Japan
Google once again failed to reset its messaging service when it launched Allo and Duo in 2016. Allo was designed as a new consumer texting application, while Duo was intended to handle video conferencing and was marketed as Allo’s “companion” app. Meanwhile, Google Hangouts was in the process of moving to an enterprise app with similar functionality. Intended to compete with his newly acquired WhatsApp, Allo began to decline almost immediately and was shut down due to lack of downloads less than two and a half years later. Critics noted that the app’s features were irritating. Meanwhile, Duo has been working for several years before finally losing its essence and being merged into Google Meet earlier this year.
Hangouts becomes Hangouts Chat. Hangouts Meet will appear. Meanwhile, Google launched “Rooms”.
Photo: Postmodern Studios, Shutterstock
Around the same time Allo and Duo launched, Google decided to pivot Google Hangouts into an enterprise platform. To do this, he split Hangouts into two different apps. Hangouts Chat was supposed to be an enterprise messenger designed for team chat, and Hangouts Meet was supposed to be a video conferencing client. Meanwhile, Google also introduced “Rooms”, a feature that allows individual conversations between multiple users within Hangouts. It’s basically the return of other similar features that have appeared before.
Hangouts Chat Becomes Google Chat, Hangouts Meet Becomes Google Meet, Rooms Become Spaces (2020)
Photo: Monticello, Shutterstock
In order to keep its user base good and confused, Google has decided to once again remove the traditional switcher for Hangouts users. In 2020, the company rebranded his Hangouts Meet and renamed it Google Meet, and Hangouts Chat became Google Chat. What is the reason for the change?The company said it is now pivoting Chat and Meet return In the opposite direction, the app can be accessed by corporate users as well as consumers. Meanwhile, in June 2021, Google announced that his Gchat rooms had turned into “spaces.” What’s the difference? not much! At the time, Google called it an “evolution” and explained that in addition to the different name, Spaces would also include some updated features.
The new rise of Google Chat
Photo: Monticello, Shutterstock
The new Google Chat was initially available only to Enterprise or Google Workspace users. However, in early 2021, Google decided to pivot the product again and make it available to regular consumers as well. I was.
RIP Hangouts (2022)
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Way back in 2018, Google claimed to finally put Kaibosh on Hangouts. After a long, slow decline, Google has officially decided to graze Hangouts in his October 2020.It will be replaced by the new Google Chat (ironically, Hangouts was originally Year Google Chat) promised many of the same and similar features. Since then, the company has consistently encouraged users to migrate to the new client. As of this week, Hangouts is officially deprecated and no longer available. Goodbye Hangouts!I will miss you as one of Google’s few messenger success stories. We can hardly understand what has replaced you!
Welcome back, (G)Chat (2022-Beyond)
Photo: sdx15, Shutterstock
Time is a flat circle, and all that is old becomes new again. Now that Hangouts is officially dead, we recommend heading over to the newly reborn Google Chat, aka “Gchat.” Google promised to make this new Gchat a stable omnichat app for the masses. should we believe them? Probably not, but it’s all part of life. Enjoy Gchat before the next inevitable product cycle swoops in and wipes out all the progress Google has made.
