Why does mobile Hangouts suck?

[Cozume]

Re: why does mobile hangouts suck?

but compared to what a beta is usually known for this doesn't exactly fit the normal beta mold.

well I guess it is all definitional then. To me, whether or not a software producer labels something beta or not isn't dispositive. What is dispositive is how the software functions. IMO, software is beta if it can't perform some of its core functionality.

Sounds like mobile hangouts can't. Whether or not Google calls it beta is irrelevant.

 

[iN8ter]

Re: why does mobile hangouts suck?

Which means that if you buy or use any product, then the manufacturer or developer can simply blow off any support issues by telling the user that it's a beta simply because the app is broken or of low quality in some areas.

Please explain to us how it that makes ANY sense.

That is more of a cop out than an explanation, which is why no one is buying anything that you're saying. It simply doesn't make any sense and it strikes me as odd that you're the only one who actually believes you "get it" and everyone else is simply "in denial."

Skype has issues with Video Chat on mobile as well. It's not beta.

FaceTime had issues after Apple had to make changes due to a patent lawsuit. It's not beta.

BBM had outages. RIM didn't just tell their customers "stop being in denial, it's a beta service and you should have seen it coming."

I just cannot comprehend how anyone could come to that conclusion. It defies logic.

Companies label things beta to limit liability and alert users that there may be unforeseen issues (either known or unknown to the developer). Hangouts has been a release-level product that Google has been pushing to both consumer and businesses for years. I know people who use Hangouts at work (via Google Apps for Business). I'm pretty sure if Google had told them it was beta they'd have thought long and hard about investing in it.

Google has no issues calling a beta product beta, even when many people would consider it completely usable. Maps Navigation is still labeled as Beta. Gmail was beta for half a decade or longer. Chrome on Mobile was beta for a long time, and they still have a Beta Channel where they "experiment." Even their desktop software often separates Beta from release versions.

Beta has real-world adoption and business use implications. Companies do not use it lightly and it is almost never used as an excuse, the way you're using it. That simply doesn't make any sense.

Hangouts is not a beta product, and hasn't been for a long time. The codebase for that functionality is neither new nor groundbreaking at this point. It's a fairly mature product and its issues are not "beta issues." They're simply service quality issues and are mostly confined to the mobile client. Hangout's mobile quality has been lackluster since it was introduced, even when it was integrated into the main Google+ app. It has nothing to do with them siphoning it off into the separate client.

How many businesses do you know who rolled out Windows 8 Beta or installed SQL Server beta on their production services/machines. How many do you know are running on Beta versions of Lync for communications... Think about it ;-)

 

[Cozume]

Re: why does mobile hangouts suck?

Which means that if you buy or use any product, then the manufacturer or developer can simply blow off any support issues by telling the user that it's a beta simply because the app is broken or of low quality in some areas.

Um, no. You seriously need to take a course in how to make a proper analogy.

 

[iN8ter]

Re: why does mobile hangouts suck?

Um, no. You seriously need to take a course in how to make a proper analogy.

That analogy is solid based on your posts in the thread.

Also, your attitude and the way in which you respond is wearing quite thin.

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[Jason Stroud1]

Re: why does mobile hangouts suck?

Which means that if you buy or use any product, then the manufacturer or developer can simply blow off any support issues by telling the user that it's a beta simply because the app is broken or of low quality in some areas.

Please explain to us how it that makes ANY sense.

That is more of a cop out than an explanation, which is why no one is buying anything that you're saying. It simply doesn't make any sense and it strikes me as odd that you're the only one who actually believes you "get it" and everyone else is simply "in denial."

Skype has issues with Video Chat on mobile as well. It's not beta.

FaceTime had issues after Apple had to make changes due to a patent lawsuit. It's not beta.

BBM had outages. RIM didn't just tell their customers "stop being in denial, it's a beta service and you should have seen it coming."

I just cannot comprehend how anyone could come to that conclusion. It defies logic.

Companies label things beta to limit liability and alert users that there may be unforeseen issues (either known or unknown to the developer). Hangouts has been a release-level product that Google has been pushing to both consumer and businesses for years. I know people who use Hangouts at work (via Google Apps for Business). I'm pretty sure if Google had told them it was beta they'd have thought long and hard about investing in it.

Google has no issues calling a beta product beta, even when many people would consider it completely usable. Maps Navigation is still labeled as Beta. Gmail was beta for half a decade or longer. Chrome on Mobile was beta for a long time, and they still have a Beta Channel where they "experiment." Even their desktop software often separates Beta from release versions.

Beta has real-world adoption and business use implications. Companies do not use it lightly and it is almost never used as an excuse, the way you're using it. That simply doesn't make any sense.

Hangouts is not a beta product, and hasn't been for a long time. The codebase for that functionality is neither new nor groundbreaking at this point. It's a fairly mature product and its issues are not "beta issues." They're simply service quality issues and are mostly confined to the mobile client. Hangout's mobile quality has been lackluster since it was introduced, even when it was integrated into the main Google+ app. It has nothing to do with them siphoning it off into the separate client.

How many businesses do you know who rolled out Windows 8 Beta or installed SQL Server beta on their production services/machines. How many do you know are running on Beta versions of Lync for communications... Think about it ;-)

This ^

I fail to understand the logic behind hangouts being a beta argument.

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[Jason Stroud1]

Getting back on topic however. Hangouts does the job for me although the quality could be much better. But most of the people I chat with are on it so that's what I use.

My main gripe is the sms functionality. iMessage is much smarter how it seamlessly changes from sms to imessage and vice versa, and how it groups the messages together instead of having different threads for sms and hangouts.

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[Bigballer]

Compared to Facetime, which is nearly/ is HD and has no buffering problems like hangouts, facetime is lightyears ahead of hangouts. Stable, great quality, HD, no lag.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasnt talk with video out before facetime for apple?

 

[Cozume]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasnt talk with video out before facetime for apple?

not on android, which is what is being discussed in this thread.

 

[iN8ter]

Compared to Facetime, which is nearly/ is HD and has no buffering problems like hangouts, facetime is lightyears ahead of hangouts. Stable, great quality, HD, no lag.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasnt talk with video out before facetime for apple?

Talk was out with the Android 2.3.4 (IIRC) update back in 2011 (or Late 2010?). FaceTime is iOS 4 so it was out with the iPhone 4 in 2010 (the first iPhone with a FFC). Back then, Android OEMs and Carriers were bundling/preloading Qik for Video Chat functionality (Evo 4G/Epic 4G, etc.) since Android was only on 2.2 back then, for the most part. FFC APIs didn't come to Android until a GB update.

HD FaceTime didn't come until the iPhone 5 (when they upgraded their FFC to 720p), but Talk never did that. Hangouts is supposed to be 720p on mobile now, but I have never seen such a thing...

I can certainly see how someone would come to the conclusion that Hangouts seems like a beta product when comparing it to FaceTime, since even FaceTime between iPhone 4 and iPod Touch 4th Generation devices blows Hangouts away for quality, stability, and reliability (like not rinking 3 times on the caller end before the receiver hears the first ring, leading to people hanging up before you even have a chance to answer or even know they were Video Calling you). However, that's a quality disparity not a product "maturity" disparity, for the most part.

Also, the ChatOn Video Chat between Galaxy S4s and Note IIIs is superior as well, so those companies (Apple and Samsung) are obviously doing something better than Google. Maybe it has something to do with the CODEC they're using/trying to push?

 

[Bigballer]

Talk was out with the Android 2.3.4 (IIRC) update back in 2011 (or Late 2010?). FaceTime is iOS 4 so it was out with the iPhone 4 in 2010 (the first iPhone with a FFC). Back then, Android OEMs and Carriers were bundling/preloading Qik for Video Chat functionality (Evo 4G/Epic 4G, etc.) since Android was only on 2.2 back then, for the most part. FFC APIs didn't come to Android until a GB update.

HD FaceTime didn't come until the iPhone 5 (when they upgraded their FFC to 720p), but Talk never did that. Hangouts is supposed to be 720p on mobile now, but I have never seen such a thing...

I can certainly see how someone would come to the conclusion that Hangouts seems like a beta product when comparing it to FaceTime, since even FaceTime between iPhone 4 and iPod Touch 4th Generation devices blows Hangouts away for quality, stability, and reliability (like not rinking 3 times on the caller end before the receiver hears the first ring, leading to people hanging up before you even have a chance to answer or even know they were Video Calling you). However, that's a quality disparity not a product "maturity" disparity, for the most part.

Also, the ChatOn Video Chat between Galaxy S4s and Note IIIs is superior as well, so those companies (Apple and Samsung) are obviously doing something better than Google. Maybe it has something to do with the CODEC they're using/trying to push?

Says who? Any article I've come across says desktop hangouts is HD (which I've had little to no problems with hangouts HD as the quality is superb) it's mobile hangouts that just sucks.

 

[iN8ter]

Says who? Any article I've come across says desktop hangouts is HD (which I've had little to no problems with hangouts HD as the quality is superb) it's mobile hangouts that just sucks.

Hangouts app updated with SMS, HD video and much more

On the video side of things there are a number of cool enhancements. Gundotra has said that starting today, Hangouts on all platforms will support HD video streaming.

 

[Bigballer]

Hangouts app updated with SMS, HD video and much more

With two Nexus 5 Front facing cameras that has 720p at 20 or 30 fps (whatever the specs are) both connected to a Comcast 20/5 internet connection, I don't see any HD when videoing each other....

 

[iN8ter]

With two Nexus 5 Front facing cameras that has 720p at 20 or 30 fps (whatever the specs are) both connected to a Comcast 20/5 internet connection, I don't see any HD when videoing each other....

That the point that I was making.

It doesn't work well at all and pretty much all improvements they've announced have seemed fictional at best in my use of the products.

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[Jason Stroud1]

That the point that I was making.

It doesn't work well at all and pretty much all improvements they've announced have seemed fictional at best in my use of the products.

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Agreed, as far as hangouts goes Google is miles behind Apple with iMessage and Facetime.

 

[thatguy188]

Agreed, as far as hangouts goes Google is miles behind Apple with iMessage and Facetime.

So now it's been over a year since this thread started.

I searched for why Hangouts is so far behind facetime in regards to lag and video quality and stumbled upon this thread.

In the beginning (over a year ago) someone said because it's beta.

Well now, a year and 5 months later, video chat on hangouts is still the same. HORRIBLE!

Any light at the end of the tunnel for it to finally be usable?

Don't get me wrong, I am Android all the way. HATE Apple. But my sis came over with her iPhone 6 and that facetime stuff is awesome! HD quality and video moves as fluent as ever (think opening your camera app and using the front facing camera, yes, that good quality + speed).

So, can we ever expect that from Google?

 

[chow22]

So now it's been over a year since this thread started.

I searched for why Hangouts is so far behind facetime in regards to lag and video quality and stumbled upon this thread.

In the beginning (over a year ago) someone said because it's beta.

Well now, a year and 5 months later, video chat on hangouts is still the same. HORRIBLE!

Any light at the end of the tunnel for it to finally be usable?

Don't get me wrong, I am Android all the way. HATE Apple. But my sis came over with her iPhone 6 and that facetime stuff is awesome! HD quality and video moves as fluent as ever (think opening your camera app and using the front facing camera, yes, that good quality + speed).

So, can we ever expect that from Google?

I just switched back to android and I hate hangouts. It is completely unusable compared to FaceTime. Are there any suitable alternatives for android? I ran a test where I did hangout video on a S5 to aniPhone 6. I follow this up with using the same network connections face time iPhone 6 to iPhone 6 and it was crystal clear while the hangout video was crap.

 

[gbororats]

Well apple only has 1 set of hardware to deal with, Android has 287362829636 different devices and manufacturer and uses any type of computer... Probably has something to do with making it compatible with everything. Skype on Android sucks too...

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