Babbling Google memo points to more Babel features

Google Babel emoji
Images say so much more

A bevy of Babel details are leaking out this week, among them TechRadar's look at some screen grabs of the G-chat revamp sent to us by a purported Google employee.

Droid-Life on Tuesday said it received a Google memo that detailed a number of features for the service, which looks to be a team effort between folks in the Google+, Android, Chrome and Apps departments.

The memo comes by way of unnamed sources, so as always, hold onto that salt shaker.

Now that you've been warned, here we go: According to the site, Babel will not only launch in Gmail but also as Android, iOS and Chrome apps.

That info isn't exactly new; however what's interesting is that apparently Google is referring to the Babel Apple app as the first time its built "a first class iOS experience" in terms of messaging, signaling we could see software that makes Cupertino uneasy come out of Google's cloisters.

Voice-entually

Other Babel features mentioned in the list are a "just once" notification system, meaning that when you have Babel running on multiple devices and platforms, opening just one alert on any of them will make the others disappear.

There will apparently be more than 800 emoji as well as a new UI applied across all clients that promotes conversing. Convos will stay in sync from mobile to desktop, and the Chrome app will keep chats going even outside the browser. Users will be able to scroll back and "relive" any on-the-record Babel blab fest.

The site also said it's privy to info that Google Voice support will eventually land on Babel, though to start it will only tie Talk, Hangouts and Messenger together.

While we still have no set release date, with all the mentions and leaks stuttering out, we wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if May's Google I/O.

Michelle Fitzsimmons

Michelle was previously a news editor at TechRadar, leading consumer tech news and reviews. Michelle is now a Content Strategist at Facebook.  A versatile, highly effective content writer and skilled editor with a keen eye for detail, Michelle is a collaborative problem solver and covered everything from smartwatches and microprocessors to VR and self-driving cars.