The mobile app version of Google+ got several new updates today which is implemented on both the Android and iOS platforms. Owners of Android devices will be getting the most out of the updates with improved notifications, ability to edit profiles on the device and being able to access the new Google+ Communities.
Google+ Vice President of Engineering Dave Besbris announced the newly updated social networking app for mobile users just this Friday. One area that they spent a lot of time on was the way photos are being handled. Android users will now have the ability to upload photos in full resolution. Previously this was not possible since the photos were crunched to a specific size to save on space. Take note though that each user account has a 5 GB storage limit.
On the iOS front most of the features that are present for Android users are available as well. There is access to the Google+ Communities and profile editing. Besbris also wrote in the gplusproject blog that the iOS version “lets you swipe through photo albums inline; you can tap once to view photos in all their glory; and the iPhone app now applies a subtle pan-zoom-scale effect to pictures in the stream.”
Hangouts also got a boost with this new update as it now needs a low bandwidth of only 150 KB. This is good news for people who don’t have access to a fast Internet connection such as those living in emerging countries.
A full list of the changelog is listed below.
Android and iOS version
- profile editing
- easier way to author content
- subtle notice when there’s new stuff to read
- subscribe to notifications from circles
- support for communities
Android version
- full-size backups of your photos
- photo spheres in the stream
- share your mood with others
- animated GIF support
- birthday reminders in Google Now
- lock screen widget
iOS version
- swipe through photo albums inline
- tap once to view photos in all their glory
- subtle pan-zoom-scale effect applied to stream photos
- longer post snippets
- bigger post photos
- comments that slide in underneath each post
Events
- send messages to specific guests
- event creators can see who’s opened their invite
- invite people by just pasting event URL in email/IM
- RSVP with number of guests you’re bringing
- duplicate an event
Hangouts
- ultra low bandwidth mode
- improved single-person broadcasts
You can download the Google+ app for free from either Google Play or the App Store.