Google I/O rumbles on and the latest additions to the Google stable are improved Google + features including tweaks to Streams, Hangouts and photo sharing.
Senior Vice President, Engineering for Google, Vic Gundotra revealed that Google+ has 41 new features planned, some of which address the need to provide a consistent experience across Google products and devices.
According to Gundotra, Streams within Google + are 'too flat' and prevent deeper exploration by users. However, from today, the streams will extend to multiple columns and display video and images much larger and more prominently. Menus and animated sections will also alter to dynamically fit the displays they're being viewed on. A new feature that sees the social network automatically adding 'related hashtags' to make related content more discoverable is also being introduced.
Perhaps the most significant development for mobile users however is in improvements made to Hangouts. Android will get a new icon and the interface has been altered so that it now groups interactions in terms of conversations as opposed to by contacts. These conversations are automatically saved and can be revisited, even if users change devices, although there is the option to delete and toggle the feature on and off.
Video chat within Hangouts has also been subjected to a revamp so that tapping on one icon invites all those participating to a video hangout regardless of the device being used. Continuing the theme of consistent user experiences, Gundotra informed those at Google I/O and the millions watching across the world that all Google + notifications will henceforth be synced - so closing one on a particular device means that it will remain closed on another.
Finally, cloud-based photo sharing has also had a boost and Google is now offering 50GB of free storage as opposed to the 5GB it once provided. The new Google + features are said to be available from today.
by deanq via Featured Articles
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