Google+, which just updated its Android app, has released an update for its iOS version today.
Interestingly enough, Google refers to its chat feature as “Messenger”, which is the same name Facebook has given to its messaging product.
The Google+ mobile team says this about the new release:
What’s new:
– Support for Google Apps users
– Messenger now lets you know if someone’s online, and if they’re currently typing.
– Lots of bug fixes including some of the crash issues you’ve been reporting!We hope you enjoy the improvements. As always, please keep the feedback coming!
You’ll also be able to +1 photos with the new version.
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It’s nice to see Google staying consistent with its app designs, and the iOS version led the Android one as far as its recent iteration. Keeping apps on multiple platforms consistent is difficult, since separate teams are working on them.
The focus on its messenger product, a hybrid of Gchat, shows that Google isn’t ready to give away messaging to Facebook just yet. Recently, we reported that Beluga had been shut down and Facebook Messenger sits atop the free apps on the Apple app store.
It’s intriguing to see the iOS version of Google+ getting features first, as the submission process on its own store would most certainly be a simpler one than that of Apple’s app store.
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