Last week, Google announced significant updates to Google Voice apps, after five years of wait, for iOS, Android and the Web versions. The latest update to Google Voice apps introduce a redesigned, more intuitive, and organized user interface and new features on all platforms. Users can now organize and manage inbox, maintain individual and group chats in a single thread, send photo MMS and more.
What’s New in Google Voice
- Users can manage and organize their inbox content easily. The inbox now has individual tabs for text messages, calls and voicemail.
- Like other messaging apps, WhatsApp and iMessage, text or voice messages sent to contacts via Google Voice will stay in a continuous thread. It will allow users to maintain a record of and easily access all correspondence with each contact.
- Users can now send and receive Photo MMS, create messaging groups and send in-notification replies.
- To cater to a wider audience, Google Voice apps now supports voicemail transcription for Spanish language with the assurance that accuracy will improve over time.
Due to Google Voice’ integration with Hangouts, the company says that Hangout users do not need to update to the new apps but to stay abreast of the latest improvements, it’s worth installing the new apps.
This is Google Voice’ first major update in five years. Since its launch in 2009, Google Voice was upgraded periodically with only minor improvements. For years, Voice not only provided voicemail services with transcription but also allowed users to access their voice mails and text messages from any computer and reduced dependence on cellular phones. Therefore, the resurfacing of Voice has taken everybody by surprise and is good news for its users who, despite years of any significant improvement to the service and its apps, stuck to it for its one of kind service.
Google is also reportedly working on bringing Project Fi to its Voice apps. Project Fi is currently only available for Nexus and Pixel smartphones.
The new Google Voice apps for iOS and Android are now available for download.
