> It would have gone much better if Google management had announced one communication platform and committed to making it their bet going forward.

Ironically, Google had this circa 2013 with Hangouts. The mobile app did SMS, im, video chat, voice chat,. you could do all the same on the web or desktop programs, including sending SMS messages from your computer.

For a short time, Google had an iMessage competitor and if they had merely stayed the course, they would have much more usage today then their fragmented explosion of mobile apps today.

Instead, they keep trying to kill Hangouts.