iPhoneSE with Google Hangouts: The Best of Both Worlds

I just recently upgraded from a Motorola Moto X (model XT1058) to an iPhoneSE 64GB. I had originally intended to write a nice review of the iPhoneSE once I got it all setup. This blog entry could be considered that but while I was configuring the device and explaining to a few folks what I had done I realized that there was much to it then just getting a new phone or even migrating from Android to iOS.

Let me start with a brief review of the iPhoneSE. This is the device that Apple should have released along with the iPhone 6s a year ago. I suppose someone inside Apple wanted to protect the sales projection for the 6s which is why they did not but since then have realized that there were still a lot of iPhone 5, 5c, and 5s users that did not and were not going to upgrade to a bigger phone. My Moto X had a 5" screen which was bearable but still too big. Even the 4.7" screen of the iPhone 6 and 6s is still too big. The 4" screen size of the iPhone 5 is, in my opinion, the perfect size for a phone. The 4" iPhone fits easily in any pocket or small purse and can be used effectively with one hand. My thumb can navigate anywhere on the screen and with the TouchID sensor I can even unlock the phone one handed without having to enter a passcode. Inside the iPhoneSE is all of the guts of the 6s with the same A9 CPU chip, M9 motion co-processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 12 megapixel iSight camera. The iPhoneSE even has a 1624 mAh battery which is bigger then that of the iPhone 5s although smaller then the 1715 mAh battery in the 6s. With the smaller screen the iPhoneSE uses far less juice to operate so the battery is more then sufficient. By far, though, the best thing about the iPhoneSE is that Apple kept the form factor exactly the same down to the button layout which means it immediately fits into any case that was designed around the iPhone 5 or 5s. Apple wasn't even smart enough to accomplish that little feat with the release of the 5c which won't fit into cases built for the 5s. In my subjective review of the iPhoneSE I can't find a thing wrong with the device to complain about.

Having been an avid Android user for over 3 years one might think that the transition to iOS would be rough but it was not. I suppose that this pain was mitgated by the fact that I have owned an iPad using iOS for longer then I have owned an Android device so I was already intimately familiar with iOS and know how to operate it. But there is more to it then just that. When I got my first Android phone (having come from a Blackberry) I decided that I liked Android over iOS for a phone for a couple of reasons. The first reason to prefer Android is the less restricted Google Play store which is far more lenient in what apps they allow to be sold through their distribution channel. I will still miss the ability to run a bitTorrent client on my mobile device but I decided I can live without that luxury until it is time to upgrade my iPad but more on that in another post... The second reason to prefer Android over iOS is the bevy of free services that Google offers which are all built right in to Android. There is Google Voice, Google Docs, Google Drive, and more. In 2013 there was no such thing as Google Hangouts until it was officially launched during the Google I/O conference on May 15, 2013. Now Google Hangouts encompasses text messaging, voice phone calls, video calls, video conferences with up to 10 participants, and has access to all of your Google contacts. On my Moto X I was able to set Hangouts to handle all incoming SMS messages. If you have a Google Voice number that is now also integrated with Hangouts so that you can make and receive voice calls through it. Hangouts is also a fully cross platform application with apps for Android and iOS as well as desktop apps for Windows and Mac OS through the Chrome applications. This means with Hangouts I can send and receive text messages from any device so I don't have to type on the tiny phone keyboard when I am sitting in front of my keyboard.

As I was configuring the new phone I realized one other interesting thing that kind of changed everything. On Android the Hangouts dialer is a separate app so making and receiving phone calls through Hangouts means a separate icon to click. On iOS the dialer is integrated into the Hangouts app for iOS.

Here are the steps I took in my migration from my Android phone to the new iPhoneSE:

1. I ordered a new phone on a new line to get a new number (no upgrade of the existing number). Since providers are making you pay for the phone on a monthly plan now anyway there is no penalty to making a new account for the new phone
2. Once the new phone was activated I went into my Google Voice account and put in a transfer request to move the phone number from my existing cell to Google Voice. Note that I had previously configured Google Voice to handle all calls and SMS messages through Hangouts.
3. I configured Google Voice to forward calls to my new cell number.
4. I configured the new phone to use Google Voice for voicemail (there are instructions for this in Google Voice)
5. Once the number transfer was complete I deactivate the service on my old phone
6. I installed the Google Hangouts app on the iPhone but told it not to ring the phone since Google Voice would forward the incoming call to the new cell number anyway

BAM! My old number is now fully functional on the new phone. I can use the Hangouts app to place calls and send and receive text messages from my old number which is in everyone's contact list already. The only person who even has the new number is my wife Sandy. 

At this point I have the best of both worlds enjoying all of the free Google services seamlessly on an iPhone. Anyone who has a Gmail account has a Google account and with a few clicks can configure Google Voice and Google Hangouts in the same manner. 

Here is another interesting tip. Google Voice will assign you a phone number for free so by this same method you can take your old deactivated phone and configure Hangouts on it so you can grant a family member their own phone and number without paying for any service at all. As long as they have access to Wifi (like connected through the personal hotspot on your phone) they can talk and text and otherwise use it like a real phone.