Google has announced the launch of two new apps – Allo and Duo at its I/O developer’s conference that according to Google will set its flagging record straight in the personal communication segment.
To begin with, Allo is a messaging app at its core but comes with lots of cool new features. For instance, users now have the option to doodle on the images they send while increasing or decreasing the font size can be achieved just by swiping the finger up or down on the send button, something that Google has termed as ‘WhisperShout.’
The biggest advantage Google has built into the Allo is the integration of Google Assistant. Users can invoke Google search from right within Allo and get all the information they need via friendly conversations that the Google Assistant is known for.
In fact, it’s like having at one’s disposal the whole Google stuff from within the chat interface.
So apart from searching, users can also invoke Maps, Translate, and YouTube from within Allo.
Another nice aspect of Allo is its Smart Reply feature that, as the name suggests, can keep track of the ways a user responds and recommend accordingly while replying to any chat message.
Smart Reply is also intelligent enough to keep a tab on the images that the user receives and advise the user on how best to respond to those as well.
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All of the above qualities make Allo one of the incredibly powerful messaging apps with smart, intelligent attributes built into it. It undoubtedly makes for a vast improvement over the standard chatting interface that others such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Vine and the likes have come to signify.
Accompanying the Allo is the new Duo app, which is a video calling application which, as its makers claim, is designed to operate even on unreliable data connections as well.
Google also stated all Duo conversations are in HD though the video quality gets down rated according to the available network condition to ensure the conversation continues to be seamless and without any hindrances. Further, end-to-end encryption is a standard feature for all calls on Duo for enhanced privacy. Plus, there is an incognito mode as well along with discreet notifications for those who’d like to chat while keeping one’s identity a secret.
However, while Google intends to take on the established chatting powerhouses like WhatsApp, FB Messenger and so on with the new Allo and Duo, the Hangouts of yore will continue to see the kind of patronage that it has received all the while.
Allo and Duo apps meanwhile are all set to reach Android and iOS mobiles by summer. No mention of Windows Mobile there, which surely won’t go down well with the fans of Windows Mobile even though the numbers aren’t that huge.
