Google's messaging situation is legitimately terrible. There's no way to sugarcoat it, either. We've seen apps and services come and go, tons of rebranding and renaming schemes and apps fall into a pit of negligence, and we're only just starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel with Google taking control of RCS on Android phones.
So what's the next move that probably makes no sense for Google's messaging platforms? Renaming Hangouts Chat to Google Chat.
Hangouts Chat is now Google Chat
This move affects G Suite customers, who will notice that Hangouts Chat has become Google Chat. Likewise, Hangouts Meet, the video conferencing portion of Google's business communication portfolio, will also be called Google Meet. Which, you know, isn't great, because Google meat sounds like some sketchy off-brand thing you'd buy from a street vendor with a Yelp rating of 2.3 stars.
Anyway, this almost completely brings Google's chat apps back full circle, which started as… GTalk. Short for Google Talk, and frequently referred to as Google Chat. But not this Google Chat! No, the old early 2000's Google Chat. We've literally gone through so many names that Google is starting to recycle them.
In their defense, this move does make sense for the section of Google's business that's focused on enterprise customers. An app called Hangouts doesn't really sound very professional, but Google Chat definitely sounds better in that regard. And Google knows that, which is why this change only affects G Suite customers. The classic, consumer version of Hangouts is sticking around and not having its name changed at all.
But give it another six months. I'm sure we'll see something else happen with Google's spider web of messaging platforms.
source: The Verge
