Hangouts 7.0 brings quick reply and home screen shortucts for contacts

Google Hangouts for Android has started receiving a new update that brings new features. The version 7.0 adds the ability for a user to quickly reply to a Hangout message without having to go into the app and Home screen shortcuts for contacts.

Before, when you were notified of a new message, you had to go all the way to the app to reply. Now, when you get a notification for a new message from Hangouts, you can reply directly from the notification tab just by hitting the reply button, and the keyboard will pop up so that you can type the message and send there itself. However, quick reply option will be seen only when there is a single Hangouts message, and if there is more than one message, you will not be able to reply.

Additionally in the Hangout v7.0, you will be able to create conversation shortcuts for a single conversation or a group on your home screen. This can be done by opening a Hangouts conversation, then tapping on the 3-dot menu button in the top right corner, and selecting "Save to Home Screen". Now an icon with your contact's profile image will show up on the home screen. This will make it easier for users to get direct access to the conversations, without opening the app and then finding the conversations.

The update also brings design tweaks that replaces checkboxes, found on previous version, with toggles. Currently, the Google Play India lists an old version of the Hangouts for Android (version 6.0). You can wait for the new version of Hangouts or download the APK file and sideload it yourself [APK Mirror]

Play Link – Hangouts