Following the announcement of its digital assistant, Google is now putting a focus on messaging and videos. Allo was the first app announced at the company's I/O developer conference, and now Duo, a one-to-one video service has also been revealed.
Allo
With the goal of making conversations easier and more expressive, Google announces Allo which is a messaging app that's integrated with the Google assistant allowing users to chat with the virtual service (@google) or in a group chat with friends.
And since the assistant understands your activities, you can ask questions or your photos on a specific date. If you're planning a get together with friends, you can even ask the assistant to suggest restaurants in the vicinity in the same conversation thread.
To make your chats more expressive, Allo has emojis, stickers and the ability to draw on photos. The messaging app also features Smart Reply which gives you suggested quick replies based on your previous chat activity. Allo is also integrated with search, translate, Google Maps and YouTube.
Since privacy and security have been a trend with messenger apps, all Allo messages will have end-to-end encryption when in incognito mode.
Duo
In addition to the messaging app, Google also introduced a new video calling app called Duo. The app is built to make video calls faster and reliable even on slow internet connections.
One key feature is Knock Knock which gives you a live video of the other caller even before the user answers the call. Google says Duo is designed to feel "spontaneous and fun."
Similar to Allo, Duo has end-to-end encryption for secure communications.
Both Allo and Duo are based on your phone number so you wouldn't need to make a new account. The two apps will be available around June to September on Android and iOS.
Images from Google Official Blog
