Google’s standalone video-calling app Duo is now not just for video calls. the company introduced lately it’s adding strengthen for audio-only calls – a feature geared toward increasing the app’s adoption in rising markets, where a robust, high-bandwidth network connection isn’t always to be had. the option is first rolling out to customers in Brazil, with a diffusion to other customers worldwide in the “coming days,” says Google.
Duo, in case that you would be able to’t preserve up with Google’s now some dozen or so communique functions, is the video calling app the corporate announced at Google I/O in may, 2016. The app launched remaining summer time and serves as Google’s solution to Apple’s FaceTime. Or perhaps WhatsApp.
rapidly after its arrival, Google product lead Amit Fulay cited in the comments of a Google+ submit that audio-best calling was once one thing that Google deliberate on including to the app “quickly.” That used to be in August, 2016, on the other hand. obviously, the characteristic’s addition was once not an instantaneous priority for the corporate.
Google as of late says the new audio-best calling possibility will work well on all connection speeds and gained’t eat up users mobile information.
The function used to be rolled out alongside a few different launches from the company, together with the addition of file-sharing within its messaging app Allo, vicinity-sharing in Google Maps, faster backup and sharing in Google images, and direct posting to Google.com.
although adding audio-simplest calls is one thing Duo users have demanded, altering the character of Duo from a video-handiest app to turn into extra broadly just a calling app also additional muddles Google’s strategy in messaging.
Why are Duo and Allo separate apps, anyway? If Google’s goal is to provide a WhatsApp competitor – one thing that will make feel given the facebook-owned app’s traction in rising markets – then it will have to supply a single app that supports texting, file sharing, group chats, audio and video calling – like WhatsApp does.
WhatsApp, which has 1.2 billion users, is fashionable as a result of its flexibility. When decent bandwidth isn’t conveniently on hand, users can simply textual content. This also permits users to avoid wasting money on limited data plans and people where only a definite collection of SMS’s monthly are available. When better-pace connections are on hand, customers can then position their calls or video calls – all from a single app.
preserving Duo and Allo separated makes little experience, especially as a result of Google nowadays has so many other messaging and conversation apps available on the market. It has Hangouts, as an example, which it recently break up up into separate apps Chat and Meet. (These are mainly the enterprise variations of Allo and Duo, but the unique Hangouts can be still round for now.)
Google additionally operates Google Voice, which simply obtained an update after a length of stagnation, plus an iMessage alternative, Messenger, the place it has been all for its RCS messaging strategy. (rich Communications services – an upgrade to SMS).
fortunately, Google is shutting down its group messaging app, areas, but let’s not omit it also has messaging built into YouTube now, and it has email products, Gmail and Inbox.
Yikes.
This “quite a lot of spaghetti thrown on the wall” technique shouldn’t be but working out neatly for Duo, which is handiest ranked #60 in Social Networking and #816 total on iTunes, according to App Annie’s data, and #210 general on Google Play.
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mobile – TechCrunch
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