Google phases out Gchat to focus firepower on Hangouts
Google has announced it is to end support for Talk, its ageing communication tool for Gmail, in order to concentrate resources on the more feature-rich Hangouts service.
Hangouts was first launched way back in 2013 but Google has kept Talk, colloquially referred to as Gchat, on as a legacy platform for people happy with a more basic level of service.
That stance however, changes on 26 June when Google forcibly migrates stragglers to its new service.
The brute force approach follows a four-year push to cajole hold-outs into making the upgrade. To streamline its offer Google will migrate across all accounts and contacts to the new system, casting aside a platform which was once the go-to tool of choice for people looking to communicate over the past decade.
Despite this move Google fans still have no shortage of options when it comes to picking a messaging service, with the search giant maintaining no less than six alternatives from which to choose, namely; Allo, Duo, Hangouts, Android Messages, Voice, and Supersonic Fun Voice Messenger.
As part of its services shake-out Google will also cease SMS support for Hangouts in an effort to push Android users into the arms of its Android Messages app.
The move follows the fragmentation of Google+ into separate apps for 'photos' and 'streams'