Google unveiled two new communications apps at Google I/O this year, including messaging app Allo and video calling app Duo. The apps can be seen as great alternatives to Apple’s iMessage and FaceTime, respectively, as they’ll also going to work on iPhone, not just Android.
Meanwhile, Google finally released one of them, Duo, which is available for download right away from the App Store and the Google Play store.
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Google describes Duo as a seamless way of initiating and enjoying video calls with friends and loved ones. All you have to do is tap on a contact’s phone number to start a video call. There’s no account setup necessary and no burdensome process to get started. However, you do need to let the person you want to video chat with that they also have to install the app on their devices.
Google says that video calls will be “fast and reliable” on Duo and that they’ll “work well even on slower networks.” It all happens thanks to an automatic resolution throttling to keep the call going. The app can seamlessly switch between Wi-Fi and cellular without dropping your call, which is one other handy feature to consider.
One of the cool features of Duo is called Knock Knock that lets you see video from the caller before answering, which might come in handy in case you want to avoid certain calls.
As for security, all Duo calls are end-to-end encrypted, Google says.
Will Duo be a FaceTime killer? It’s likely that iPhone fans who are already using Apple’s video call service will not ditch it for Duo anytime soon. But they should still install it as this app will let them video chat with Android users as well – download links are available at the source links below.
