Google Voice Gets First Update in Five Years

Remember Google Vocalization, the app that introduced voicemail transcriptions and gave anybody costless phone numbers dorsum in 2009, but then seemed to autumn into a years-long blackout? It returned with a few minor updates recently and promises of more than to come.

The fact that Google Voice languished isn't surprising—it is designed to brand smartphone conversations easier at a time when social networks and texting apps made calls anachronistic for everyday advice. And then it's only natural that this update to the Google Android and Apple iOS Google Voice apps are focused on beefing up the messaging side of service.

The app's revamped interface at present has split up tabs for text messages, calls, and voicemails. Newly included messages tab, which is the left-most of the 3, ensures users tin can easily caput directly for it when they beginning open up the app. As with Facebook Messenger and Apple tree Messages, texts sent to your Google Voice number at present get in equally threaded conversations, and so borer on a contact opens upwards all of your texts with that person. The same organisation layout now too supports group messages.

Not all Google Voice users have the mobile app, since y'all tin can also make and receive Google Voice calls through the Google Hangouts app or in the Hangouts conversation customer in Gmail. Those users won't notice anything dissimilar with today's changes, although Google suggested they kickoff using the Google Vocalization app to become ready "as we continue to bring new improvements."

None of these updates will come as a surprise to Apple iOS users, who can already take reward of all of them using Apple's competing Messages service. Messages does fall short when it comes to Google Voice'south original innovation—as the Google app has the ability to band all of your phones from a single number. Whether or not that innovation continues to be relevant in 2022 is an open question.