Google is extending the video chat capabilities it already has built into Gmail to bring the email service more in line with Google+. The company’s decision to add hangouts to Gmail was announced today in a post on the Official Gmail Blog. The new feature will allow users to connect across a variety of Google services.
Gmail’s older video chat feature was based on peer-to-peer technology. Hangouts runs on Google’s network, allowing for higher quality and reliability. The new Hangouts feature will also allow users — if they’re on Google+ — to chat with up to nine people at once, whereas with the older implementation only one-to-one video chats were possible.
The new feature will be rolling out starting today, and the rollout will gradually continue over the next few weeks.
