Google just announced a huge new feature in Hangouts for folks who don’t fancy calling over their carriers’ cellular network. Hangouts now features free calling on iOS, Android and the web to any US or Canadian phone number, or any other Hangout user, of course. International calling does cost, but they say their rates are so ridiculously low that you probably won’t even notice spending any money.

The timing seems perfect as Google Voice features began appearing in the Hangouts app last night. While we’re still not totally sure what will eventually come of that (the early features seemed half broken), this is enough to take our mind off it for the time being.

There are absolutely no strings attached — all you need are the updated Hangouts app (APK download right here) and the new Hangouts Dialer app from the Google Play Store. A quick spin on our end reveals that you don’t even need a SIM card in your phone in order to place a call — WiFi-only situations will not keep you from being able to reach the ones you love. Awesome sauce is all we can say! Grab the downloads and let us know if you’ll be taking advantage.

[via Google]