Android Wear 2.0 watches from Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger and Movado are coming and they look fantastic

The 2017 Android Wear watch line-up is looking good!

If you want your smartwatch to look good while it’s doing all the cool things on your wrist, you’re going to love what we’re seeing from the Baselworld 2017 watch show.

Courtesy of the @AndroidWear Twitter account we get a first look at watches from Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger, and Movado that look nothing like any Android Wear 2 watch we’ve seen before.

Movado has a teaser for the Movado Connect at their website, and we see that the men’s version is coming this fall with five bracelet styles. No word on a ladies model or any pricing, but they do tell us to expect over 100 different dial styles.

This fall, Movado will introduce a touchscreen smartwatch that brings midcentury modern design into the new millennium with cutting-edge technology. One of the first watches designed specifically for Android Wear 2.0, this smartwatch features over 100 fascinating dial variations. Each dial explores Movado’s iconic single dot design with brilliant new color, dimension, complication, details and day to night transformation.

The Hugo Boss Touch and oddly named Tommy Hilfiger TH24/7You are detailed by Wareable, and they have a bit of information on each:

• The Hugo Boss Touch comes this August and will check in at $395. Expect to see NFC and Android Pay, but there is no heart rate sensor so Android Fit may be a no-show.

• The Tommy Hilfiger TH24/7You comes “later this year” and is priced at $299. Band styles include a brown leather and stainless link bracelet, and they say NFC is absent on the TH24/7You.

While Android Wear 2.0 lends itself well to fashion-sport timepieces like the LG Watch Sport this trio of high-end watches show that they can look great, too. We’re looking forward to hearing more about these and other new Android Wear devices and expect the lineup to be looking good come summertime.

Android Wear

• Everything you need to know about Android Wear 2.0
• LG Watch Sport review
• LG Watch Style review
• These watches will get Android Wear 2.0
• Discuss Android Wear in the forums!

Pokemon Go is giving players a chance to catch rare shiny Magikarp

Pokemon Go fans have a new quest: Shiny Magikarp.

The popular game has an event going on right now that honours water-type Pokemon, and as part of an effort to get people playing Pokemon Go, the app is offering up highly coveted shiny Pokemon. These have never been spotted in the app before and are obviously hard to find. They can transform and have different colours than standard Pokemon. So, if you happen to catch any shiny Magikarp, you’re doing well.

Trainers across the world are reporting sightings of rare golden Magikarp in the wild! https://t.co/ZjUoac0wKG pic.twitter.com/ymx3jzwSY2

— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) March 24, 2017

They are collector’s items that evolve into powerful red Gyarados, which are featured prominently in Pokemon Gold and Silver. Although spotting a golden Magikarp won’t be easy, you should keep in mind that the Water Festival makes water-type Pokemon of all kinds more common everywhere. Nevertheless, it only has a discovery rate of 220 standard Magikarp to one shiny, according to Kotaku.

• Help! Pokemon Go isn’t working: How to fix common Pokemon Go problems
• Pokemon Go top tips: Master the Pokemon mayhem
• Pokemon Go Gym tips: How to battle, train and win

You’ll need to do some leg work to catch shiny Magikarp, but once you do, you might as well pick up this hat that Niantic, the game’s developer, has begun offering in the in-game shop. Niantic said its special event ends on 29 March at 4 pm ET.

• Pokemon Go: How to play and other tips and tricks
• What is Pokemon Go and why is everyone talking about it?
• Pokemon Go: Best, worst and craziest places people have found Pokemon
• London through the eyes of Pokemon Go
• Pokemon Go: 11 amazing, mind-boggling facts about the AR game

How to adult at security

You’re a grown-ass adult — so stop using the same password for everything. Seriously, your cat’s name followed by your birthday isn’t fooling anybody. Don’t be that guy (of any gender) who gets totally owned by ransomware. Pull up your big-person pants, walk with us through the baddies of threats and help yourself to our tips on how to totally adult your way through the nightmare that is modern computer security. Don’t worry, you got this.

Ransomware

Ransomware can happen to anyone. It has exploded into an epidemic over the past few years, infecting people, police departments, hospitals, schools and more.

Ransomware is a malware infection that goes into your network and encrypts (locks) every file it can find while its presence remains hidden. Then a screen appears explaining that the files are locked until a bitcoin payment is sent (with instructions for sending the money). Payment is usually 1/2 bitcoin, which right now is around $500. Mess with the files or decline to pay and forget about ever opening those files and seeing your MP3 collection or bat mitzvah photos ever again. But if payment is sent, you get a key to decrypt everything within a few hours.

Ransomware usually infects people through tainted email attachments, links disguised as legitimate websites or infected ads (on the site or in pop-up windows).

Right now, there is no definitive way to prevent ransomware, but there are things you can do to help protect yourself.

Never download attachments you don’t expect. Double-check the spelling of any links to make sure they’re legitimate spellings before you click, and avoid shortened links from untrusted sources. Turn off your email program’s ability to automatically display images.

Next, get your backup act together. Backups are definitely something that makes you an adult: You should have auto-backups set with everything possible. Apple’s Time Machine is an encrypted blessing. CrashPlan is an example of a backup service that copies and stores your files on a regular schedule, and it also comes as standalone software.

But when it comes to fighting ransomware, you want to have a separate set of backups that are out of reach of your network, because ransomware will also lock up any external drives you have attached or mapped. Make one big backup every 60 to 90 days (or more often if you’d like) that all goes on one external hard drive. Then unplug that hard drive from your network and put it on a shelf for safekeeping — just in case.

Surveillance

Between broken security and an aggressive surveillance state, it often feels like the deck is stacked against us. Some people react by going overboard with surveillance paranoia, others sink into apathy and give up.

When you start to learn about all the ways in which we’re tracked, collected and surveilled by corporations, online creeps and governments, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. If you want to be an adult (i.e., neither of these extremes) about your privacy and fight back the creeping tendrils of surveillance that have soaked into our lives, you’ll look for a sweet spot in the middle that’s right for you.

First, identify what kind of surveillance you’re trying to fight. Is it government, corporate or another person? Research how each entity can spy on you and focus your attention accordingly.

If you’re looking to subvert government spying, look at privacy manuals for activists. The OPSEC for Activists series (1, 2, 3) by information security professional Ellie Armageddon is among the best you’ll find. Also be sure to use encrypted apps for chat like Signal or Threema, stick to online connections that use https and use a VPN whenever you’re using the internet outside of your home.

Ideally, we’d all use encrypted email connections whenever possible, or when we feel it’s necessary. However, setting up an encrypted email environment is a difficult task for nontechnical people. So it’s no surprise that most internet users are still communicating via email services that don’t have end-to-end encryption, like Gmail, Yahoo and others. One option is ProtonMail, which offers free and paid accounts. One Apple-only solution is GPG Tools, which you download and then configure to Apple Mail.

Corporate surveillance is threaded throughout the fabric of our lives. It’s insidious, tracking our every move online and off, through our phones and devices, with and without our consent. Facebook is still among the worst, and if you don’t believe me, check out this new tool that shows how Facebook collects its data on you.

You can limit the spying that corporations do in a range of ways, from de-installing their apps on your phone to drilling down into privacy settings and opting out of everything you can. Stop them from tracking your physical location and your browsing habits, and whenever possible, prevent apps from scraping your address books. Also, try your best to avoid using companies that have bad reputations for privacy and security abuses, and don’t install disreputable apps. Use a robust browser that respects privacy and security, like Chrome, Firefox or Brave.

To stop individuals from spying on you, like hackers, start with the things I’ve suggested to fight government spying: Use a VPN and encrypt your communications.

But you should also take extra precautions. Never log in to any of your accounts on someone else’s device, and don’t let someone use your phone, laptop or tablet outside of your sight. Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) on all of your accounts that have it as an option (Amazon and Google, for instance). Cover your webcam when you’re not using it. Make sure all photos you take aren’t leaking your location data; most apps have a setting that lets you toggle location on and off.

Finally, the adult basics: Get your password life in line. Use a service like LastPass or (my favorite) 1Password, to remember your passwords for you. Those apps will keep all of them securely encrypted in a backup. Use that manager to make sure you’re not reusing passwords — that’s one of the main ways hackers get you. They find old passwords of yours in old breach dumps (like Target or Home Depot) and go through your accounts everywhere to see if you’ve reused it. Use the password manager to create new, complex passwords that can’t be easily cracked.

Botnets

We all love the convenience of connected devices, app-controlled lightbulbs and high-tech cars. But they come with many disadvantages, one of the biggies being that they can be hijacked by botnets.

Botnets often harness the weak security of internet-connected devices, like DVRs, printers, routers, vending machines and cameras, to overload targeted businesses and websites with traffic. This is a network of bots that responds to the commands of their controller, and for those in the know, they’re as easy to build as they are to rent or buy.

While the flood of traffic from a botnet is usually used to take sites down, sometimes they’re part of a scam to elevate search rank.

It’s difficult for us consumers to fight botnets because half the problem lies with the manufacturers of our connected appliances. The makers aren’t practicing good security. But we can at least make sure our connected devices aren’t using a simple or default password.

Often things like routers ship with a basic password for our convenience in setup. That means all the routers have the same password, and most people don’t change it — making them quite easy to hack. So be an adult and go make sure the passwords on your internet-connected devices aren’t the ones in the instruction manuals.

Identity management

One new buzzword that emerged from the recent RSA security conference in San Francisco was something called identity management. That simply refers to the user accounts we have on our devices and high-tech cars.

The problem here is that previous owners’ profiles aren’t getting removed when the items are being resold. For instance, one man who presented at RSA found that after he sold his convertible, he could still use the car’s app to control the vehicle, even though it was now owned by someone else. In that instance, his access to the car remained for four years.

Of course, knowing is only half the battle. The other half is doing something about it. Security pros are finding that wiping devices or doing a reset isn’t enough and that often previous user data remains connected in the cloud.

Make sure you’re removed from a device’s account when you sell it (or throw it away; people dig this stuff out of the trash to reuse too). Contact the manufacturer and talk to tech support if you’re not sure. Check all used devices you get to make sure no one’s settings are still on them and that there’s nothing in their connection history other than yourself. If there is, contact the manufacturer to have them removed.

Adulting, accomplished

That’s it! Security might be one of those things that always manages to intimidate us into feeling like little kids in a world of grown-up threats. But hopefully this little guide helps you adult your way through it enough to keep your privacy, your identity and all of your files safe.

Check out all of Engadget’s “Adult Week” coverage right here.

Images: Getty Images/iStockphoto (email); ER_Creative via Getty Images (CCTV); Getty Images/iStockphoto (IoT network); AndreyPopov via Getty Images (jumping people)

Google kills Talk so Hangouts may live

Google has a frankly absurd ecosystem of chat, messaging and texting apps. In theory, the company would like enterprise users to get on board with Hangouts while directing people to Allo for their day-to-day personal chats and texts. In practice, however, you’ve got Hangouts (in both Meet and Chat flavors) on desktop and mobile, Android Messages or Google Voice for texts and SMS messages, Google Talk living inside Gmail and no dedicated app for Allo on the desktop. Although we already knew Google was dropping texts messaging from Hangouts, the company also announced the end of Google Talk today, signaling the end of the little chat app’s 12-year lifespan.

Starting in the next few weeks, Gmail users who still use Google Talk will start getting alerts to switch to Hangouts, and after June 26th you’ll be dropped into Hangouts whether you like it or not. The old Google Talk app for Android will also stop functioning.

And speaking of messaging on Android, Google is trying to clean up that messy experience as well. Removing SMS messaging from Hangouts was the first step in that process, and those messages will be completely turned off starting on May 22. For your texting needs, Google is now directing users to its new Android Messages app, which will be getting additional features like read receipts, group chat and hi-res photo sharing. The changes do not, however, affect anyone using Hangouts as their SMS messaging app for Google Voice or Project Fi.

Finally, in some related housekeeping news for Google’s various messaging platforms: Google+ functionality will also be disappearing from Gmail in the next month or so, and a few experimental Gmail Labs items are getting rolled into official Gmail Add-ons.

Source: G Suite Blog

Facebook tests GIFs in comments like it’s 1995

It’s time for Facebook to fully embrace the animated GIF. The social network is about to start testing the ability to add GIFs to comments and your feed will never be the same.

This isn’t the first foray into animated GIFs for Facebook, of course — it’s been possible to use them as posts since 2015. Letting users comment on posts with this hot form of visual expression just shows how ubiquitous they have become. Love them or hate them, animated GIFs are everywhere, showing up in major messaging platforms like Apple’s Messages and Facebook’s Messenger. Heck, even Twitter has them, letting users of the short-text service express themselves in looping animations instead of just letters, numbers and emojis.

“Everyone loves a good GIF and we know that people want to be able to use them in comments,” a Facebook spokesperson told Engadget in an email. “So we’re about to start testing the ability to add GIFs to comments and we’ll share more when we can, but for now we repeat that this is just a test.”

Facebook should begin testing comment GIFs next week with a small percentage of users. It will work similarly to the way GIFs work in Messenger right now, with some sort of search interface. Whether it rolls out more broadly to everyone at some point will of course depend on how well the test goes. If you’re one of the lucky few that gets the ability to comment with GIFs, though, we may blame you when they take over all of Facebook.

Via: TechCrunch

Tesla starts taking solar roof orders next month

Compared to successfully launching a private rocketry business and an electric vehicle brand, Elon Musk’s quest to line your roof with solar cells is a less flashy endeavor. He pitched it last August as Tesla’s preamble in its eventually successful attempt to acquire SolarCity, a part of his greater goal to wean society off fossil fuel dependence. We haven’t heard much else about it since. But in typical fashion for his announcements — that is, in a tweet responding to a random question — Musk told the world that folks can start placing orders for solar roofs in April.

@HolsMichael Start taking orders in April

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 24, 2017

It’s still unclear exactly how much they’ll cost or when the orders will be delivered. Musk did mention in an investor call back in October that a full set of power-generating tiles would likely cost less than a roof made of shingles, but we’re still in the dark about, well, everything else.

Via: VentureBeat

Google app test makes editing photos more social

Right on the heels of killing off Google Talk, the company has admitted it’s working on a new app for group photo editing and sharing. While Google already has the chat app Allo and video calling app Duo, it may be feeling pressure from its competitors’ similar offerings. Facebook has a similar social photo sharing app called Moments, for example, while Apple just announced its AI-powered movie editing app, Clips.

In an email, a Google spokesperson told Engadget that this is an experiment — just one of many that the company runs at any given time and that there are currently no plans to launch.

According to TechCrunch, the new app will allow a group of friends to edit photos together and then organize them to look at later. This potential app sounds a lot like Moments with added editing features, as users will be able to create groups to share and edit their photos collaboratively. TechCrunch’s sources believe that the app would also bring Google’s image search ability, which would let you identify objects in photos for future searches within the app.

Google seems to be trying the “throw everything at the wall and see what sticks” approach to its social media strategy. If more people are indeed using social apps like Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat instead of searching the web, Google needs to find a way to keep people engaged in its own mobile ecosystem.

Via: TechCrunch

Netflix thinks people still like Adam Sandler movies

Adam Sandler’s recent output has been… well, it’s probably best not to talk about it. Regardless of how you feel about his work, Netflix and its viewers seem to be fans and as such the streaming juggernaut has inked another four-movie deal with the Saturday Night Live alum. The first, romantic comedy Sandy Wexler, debuts April 14th and stars Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson, and Sandler’s usual suspects: Kevin James, Terry Crews, Nick Swardson and Rob Schneider among others.

Netflix says it’s set in ’90s Los Angeles, but aside from that, details are scarce. Same goes for anything regarding the other three movies. But, maybe that lack of information is a good thing. Who knows, Sandler could surprise the cynics with another Punch-Drunk Love, Reign Over Me or Funny People. Stranger things have happened — especially on Netflix.

Source: Netflix

How to choose an iPad: A practical guide to Apple’s tablets

It’s been a while since Apple made choosing an iPad easy.

There was an overwhelming number of iPad models on store shelves for quite some time and Apple caught a lot of well-deserved flack for the complexity of its tablet portfolio, most of it centered around the difference — or lack thereof — between iPads. There were multiple versions of the Air and Mini, and that was before the company introduced the 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch Pro models.

More: What’s the best MacBook for your money? Hint — you can forget the Touch Bar

Thankfully, the iPad hierarchy is now a lot simpler. The 12.9-inch Pro is the most expensive at $800, and its smaller cousin, the 9.7-inch Pro, sits below at $600. The 9.7-inch iPad, at $330, is your budget option, while the $400, 7.9-inch Mini 4 is the only small iPad still available.

Just because the new iPad lineup is smaller, however, doesn’t mean choosing the right model for you has become any less challenging. Spec breakdowns are one thing, but context is another. What good is a 12-inch screen if you value portability above all else? And why pay more for a top-of-the-line graphics chip if you only game casually?

In an attempt to answer those questions and others, we’ve evaluated every iPad pragmatically in an attempt to identify the most appropriate use for each. It’s a buying guide in the truest sense of the phrase: The merits and deficiencies of each iPad are laid bare in everyday language. To say it’ll lead to the perfect purchase is facetious — there’s no such thing, after all — but our guide should, at the very least, help you choose which iPads to consider and which to avoid.

The budget-conscious iPad — iPad ($330+)

The latest 9.7-inch iPad, unveiled in March, is one of the most affordable Apple has ever offered. It’s the cheapest option in the current iPad lineup, after the iPad Mini 2 was discontinued.

This is a great tablet for watching movies, thanks to a 9.7-inch Retina display with a 2,048 x 1,536-pixel resolution. It has a speedy A9 processor and a big battery that can go for 10 hours on a single charge. You’ll also find an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera, two speakers, a Touch ID fingerprint sensor, support for Apple Pay, and a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack.

With the announcement of the new iPad, Apple also revealed that the iPad Air 2 will be discontinued. There’s actually little difference between the two. The new iPad is thicker at 7.5 millimeters, compared to the svelte, 6.1-millimeter Air 2. It also has a newer, faster processor than its sibling, and it’s a little heavier, with a bigger battery. But the new iPad lacks the cutting -edge processing power and the 12-megapixel camera found on the 9.7-inch Pro.

What’s that all that mean in practical terms? If you don’t demand a superior shooter, play the latest games, or run extraordinarily demanding apps, the iPad will suit you just fine. It’s comfortable in the hand and ideal for casual content consumption — reading, watching movies, casual gaming, etc. It may do for productivity in a pinch, too, and you’ll have no trouble snagging a decent keyboard. But for serious work, the Pro range is where to look.

It’s hard to find much fault with the iPad at $330. It’s the cheapest model you’ll find outside the used or refurbished market. If budget is your primary consideration, the iPad is the obvious winner.

Buy one now from:

Apple

The powerful and compact iPad — iPad Mini 4 ($400+)

If power in a small form factor is what you seek, the iPad Mini 4 delivers. An evolution of the much-maligned iPad Mini 3, it addresses all of its predecessor’s shortcomings and more: it’s got the same A8 processor as the iPhone 6, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, faster Wi-Fi (802.11ac), Touch ID, and a thinner (6.1mm) and lighter (0.65lbs) aluminum exterior.

But the differences end there. It takes design cues from the iPad Mini 3, has the same quoted battery life (10 hours), and sports an identical screen screen resolution (2,048 x 1,536 pixels).

There’s new software to consider. The iPad Mini 4’s updated silicon supports all of iOS 9’s multitasking features — Slide Over, Picture in Picture, and Split View. Split View, by far the most compelling of the three, lets you arrange and interact with two side-by-side apps. You can copy and paste text from an adjacent Wikipedia article into a Word doc, for instance, or watch a video while answering email. (Multiple windows on a screen size that comparatively small may be difficult to maneuver, granted.)

The iPad Mini 4 has chops in other areas. The 8-megapixel camera packs autofocus and aperture improvements over the iPad Mini 3, and the A8 — which powers the new Apple TV, incidentally — can handle almost any graphics-intensive game thrown at it.

In sum, the iPad Mini 4 can multitask like a pro, take great pictures, and play the newest games. If those prospects excite you, go for it. But if they don’t, or if you’d like those features in a larger body, then consider stepping an iPad tier up or down. Read our full review.

Buy one now from:

Apple

The elephant in the room — iPad Pro 12.9 ($800+)

The iPad Pro is Apple’s biggest tablet, measuring a ruler-busting 12.9 inches. It’s thick and hefty, too, at about 6.9 mm deep and 1.57 lbs — a tad thinner, but heavier than the original iPad.

Justifying that footprint is what Apple’s been calling “desktop-level” performance and features, and our impressions support those assertions. The iPad Pro’s display is a whopping 2,732 x 2,048 pixels, higher in resolution than any of the other iPads, and driven by the A9X processor, a beefed-up version of the A9, paired with 4GB of memory. It’s well-endowed externally, too: The Pro sports a four-speaker array, a Touch ID sensor, an 8-megapixel camera, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and LTE connectivity. It’s a multitasking monster.

Accoutrements are only a part of the Pro equation, though. The real value proposition is ostensibly in the accessories. There’s the Smart Keyboard, an iPad cover with attached QWERTY keys, and there’s the far more interesting Apple Pencil. It’s Apple’s first attempt at a stylus, and the company’s touting its superiority to competing styli in the areas of pressure sensitivity (it can differentiate between hard and light presses) and battery (it lasts up to 12 hours).

All told, the Pro may be the ultimate iPad. It certainly delivers on performance, and extras like dual stereo speakers and Touch ID are icing on the cake. But it’s not for everyone. The Pro’s far and away the most expensive iPad at a base price of $800. Its immense screen is as unavoidably awkward as it is unwieldy — it’ll be tough to finagle the Pro on a subway, much less a plane. And the productivity tools that truly make it shine, the Smart keyboard and Apple Pencil, are an up-sell ($100 for the Pencil and $160 for the keyboard).

Apple’s angling for a very particular market with the Pro: enterprise and corporate users who might otherwise be swayed by a PC equivalent, such as Microsoft’s Surface. That’s not to say its features don’t appeal to the average crowd, but unless you’re willing to put up with the very real drawbacks the 12.9-inch Pro’s size confers, you might consider a more portable option. Read our full review

Buy one now from:

Apple

The best of all worlds — iPad Pro 9.7 ($600+)

Perhaps Apple realized that gigantic tablets don’t really appeal to the vast majority of folks. The smaller variant of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro — dubbed the 9.7-inch iPad Pro — will hit the sweet spot for a lot of people. It’s in many ways a carbon copy, albeit a smaller one, of its predecessor. The 9.7-inch model sports the same A9X processor as its larger sibling, along with the same multi-speaker array and Retina display with a 2,048 x 1,536-pixel resolution. It’s also compatible with many, if not all, of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro’s accessories, including the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard.

That’s not to say they’re identical, however. The diminutive iPad Pro packs only half the RAM — 2GB — of its counterpart, and features improved camera components in the form of a 12-megapixel rear-facing shooter and 5-megapixel front-facing sensor. By and large, though, the differences are negligible. From an experiential standpoint, you’re getting the same tech from last year’s iPad Pro in a slimmer, lighter package.

For most people, that’s a no-brainer. The 9.7-inch iPad Pro’s got portability and processing prowess in its favor, plus the added benefit of compatibility with future 12.9-inch iPad Pro accessories. And it’s only marginally more expensive than the iPad Air 2 — $600 versus $400.

If you’re compelled to pick up the latest-and-greatest Apple device and don’t mind putting down a few more Benjamins for the privilege, the iPad Pro’s your best bet. Read our full review

Buy one now from:

Apple

Conclusion

There is, as we said in the beginning, no perfect iPad. The iPad lacks the Pro’s decked-out audio and top-of-the-line processor; the iPad Mini 4 is the only compact choice; and the 12-inch iPad Pro is a bit on the large side. But there are iPads more appropriate for some users than others. Want a cheap, relatively uncompromising iPad? The standard 9.7-inch iPad’s just fine. Want a top-of-the-line tablet you can fit in your briefcase? Opt for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro.

Ultimately, of course, a written guide is no substitute for the real thing. When it comes time to make a purchasing decision, reserve some hands-on time. Scope out the iPads at your local Best Buy or Apple Store, and get a feel for their respective strengths and limitations. They aren’t the cheapest investment, after all, so take it slow. Weigh your options carefully.

Then buy your iPad and enjoy the hell out of it.

This article was originally published on June 30 and updated on March 23 by Simon Hill to include recent lineup changes.

Hangouts may lose SMS support as Google overhauls it to take on Slack

Why it matters to you

If you’re an Android user who relies on Hangouts to handle your text messages, Google may soon force you to find a different app for the job.

SMS integration in Google’s popular Hangouts messaging app may not be long for this world. An email shared on Reddit, reportedly sent by the company to G Suite administrators, claims Google will remove the feature on May 22 as it continues to push non-enterprise users toward its new Allo and Duo platforms.

According to the post, Google will begin notifying Hangouts users of the change next week, asking them if they’d like to switch to a different texting app on their device if they’ve chosen Hangouts as the default. If they don’t have an alternative installed, it will direct them to the Google Play Store to get one.

More: Attack on Slack: Google beefs up its Hangouts services, Meet and Chat

For those who use Google Voice, the company points out that this change only affects people sending SMS through carrier phone numbers, and Google Voice numbers will continue to be supported.

It’s no surprise that Google would be ridding Hangouts of one of its primary selling points while it re-positions the service. Last fall, Google notified Android partners that Hangouts was to no longer be included in the operating system’s core apps package. And just several weeks ago, the company unveiled Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet — two new apps that represent the evolution of the platform as a business-centric tool similar to Slack and Microsoft Teams.

Still, it seems like only yesterday Google launched Hangouts as the successor to Google Talk, pitching it as the one-stop app for all your communication needs, whether that involved Google contacts, SMS and MMS, or video calling. Up until that point, Android lacked its counterpart to Apple’s Messages — a default application on every phone that could intelligently consolidate old-fashioned texts with faster, more feature-rich internet-based chat in the same conversation.

That was an important advantage for Hangouts’ adoption at the time, as it meant users could completely replace their texting app with Google’s new service, and slowly and easily migrate their conversations to Hangouts as their friends made the switch. As a result, Google cultivated a modest following with Hangouts over a number of years.

While it never rivaled Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp in terms of sheer active users, Hangouts was special because it worked on so many different levels. As Google distributes features that all used to be contained within Hangouts among different services, users will be forced to install to multiple apps to compensate — and Google could very well lose them in the process.