It looks like Google has some new plans for its Hangouts app on Android. A new rumor suggests that Google will kill support for carrier SMS and MMS in its next update.
The Hangouts app was integrated with SMS and MMS support in 2013 that allowed users to easily switch between text messages and Hangouts messages while staying inside the same app. SMS and Hangout conversations with the same recipient were combined into a single conversation. The latest rumor that apparently come from trusted sources says that the Hangouts will drop text message support for carrier numbers but Google Voice and Fi will continue to work in Hangouts.
It is believed that Google wants you to use the Google Messenger app for SMS and will prompt users to update to the new version of the Hangouts app. I personally love the standalone Messenger app that handle both SMS and MMS and lets you share pictures and videos from the chat dialog, search contacts and conversations, block SMSs, send audio messages, send emjios and more.