A small change to prepare for the end of Google Hangouts
Google is set to roll out an update for Gmail on Android that changes the status bar icons for notifications from both its Chat and Spaces services. With Google Hangouts nearing the end of its life, this is a new tweak that further distinguishes those two messaging platforms from each other. Chat is the company’s everyday messaging app, while Spaces is a Slack-like competitor for communicating with larger groups.
Before this update, which was spotted by 9to5Google, the icons along the status bar have been the same for both Chat and Spaces. Each would show you with a filled in message bubble with an empty one sat behind that. That is now gone, and Chat will provide you with just an empty single message bubble.
Source: 9To5Google
For Spaces notifications, you’ll see an icon that looks like three people standing next to each other. You can see an example above with the second icon for Chat, and the third icon for Spaces. The first icon is what notifications used to look like for both platforms. If you recognize these newer icons, it’s because they’re the same as what you’ve seen in the bottom bar in the Gmail app.
We don’t know when you’ll get this update on your Android phone, but it seems to be rolling out to some that are running version 2022.02.20.x of Gmail. We’ve been unable to replicate this on any of our Android devices, which makes us think this update may take a little while to roll out to everyone.
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