Android: If you thought Google Voice integration would be the biggest Hangouts-related news today, you were wrong. Today Google released the Hangouts Dialer. Not only does it seem to be a worthy replacement for the stock Dialer, but users in the US and Canada can now make free voice calls. With or without Google Voice.


This comes in tandem with a brand new Hangouts app, which has also been updated with a brand new UI. To access the dialer, you'll need to install a separate app. For some reason, Google has allowed some users to install the dialer, which will prompt you to update to Hangouts 2.3, which may not be accessible yet due to a slow rollout. If you're facing this problem and don't want to wait, you can find an APK at Android Police here.

Once everything is finally working, however, the entire thing appears to function as one single app. You can access your contact list from the left-most tab, messages in the middle, and the dialer from the right. Calls made within the US and Canada are entirely free VoIP calls and, like with Google Voice, international rates are available.


Hangouts | Google Play Store via Android Police

Hangouts Dialer | Google Play Store