Lot of people are wondering why Google decided to go with a segmented apps approach at the just concluded Google IO event when they announced the Google Allo and Duo apps, one for instant chats and the other for video calls. Why couldn’t they have upgraded Google Hangouts to 2.0 Reloaded with all these bells and whistles, one might ask. But who are we to judge? We honestly can’t yet see the forest for the trees. So we digress.
The allure of Google Duo is in its simplicity and size. The app comes in at 5MBs but as they say, size doesn’t matter and in this case it doesn’t. The engineering team at Google put in some overtime to make Duo the superfast, lightweight little monster that it is.
Duo, which will available for iOS and Android is said to adjust audio and video quality to accommodate whatever internet connection you’re currently connected to and the call will go through on a not-so-good internet connection. Duo can even switch from Wifi to mobile internet without dropping the call when you get out of Wifi range.
By the time you place a video call, Duo is already up and running. The receiver will be able to see your live video feed on their lockscreen by the time they pick the call giving a whole new meaning to video calls. Google calls this feature Knock Knock and it makes one think of security cams outside your home monitoring whoever is ringing the doorbell.
And did we add that Duo just like Allo has End-to-end encryption baked in? Encryption seems to be the byword when it comes to social apps of late since WhatsApp implemented complete encryption of the app, following in the footsteps of Apps like Signal and Telegram and soon followed by Viber among others.
If you are as excited as we are about the upcoming release of Googles little Video Call up, you can Pre-register for Google Duo on the Android Playstore meanwhile as Google ties up loose ends.
