Google debuted a shiny new chat app called Allo during its IO 2016 conference today, and while it’s a fresh take on messaging, one element of the app is actually quite familiar. One’s got Google’s new smart voice assistant built in, and the other wants to completely change the way we think about video calling. In fact, you won’t even feel the transition between the call and the pre-call feed, Google says. “If you type “@google”, it will run a search query inside the app.
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The product, pronounced “Aloe”, is Google’s latest attempt to gain a foothold in the huge messaging app market, where it has so far failed to make an impact against market leaders like WhatsApp, Snapchat and Facebook’s Messenger.
You can also play games with the Google Assistant, like an emoji trivia game where the assistant sends emojis that describe a movie title.
The Google Assistant will let you do anything from booking a cab to ordering food without leaving the app. It’s created to make your conversations easier. The company has now stated it will continue to work on both apps even ever the launch of Allo. The two apps were just previewed at the event and will become available for free later this summer, for both iOS and Android. However, the tech giant claims that the two new chat apps will in no way serve as replacements for Hangouts.
This new platform has a number of unique features over its rivals including the ability to offer responses tailored to individual users text messages and video content. All calls also have end-to-end encryption. Finally, Allo will support incognito mode, with these private chats offering end-to-end encryption and “discreet notifications”.
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Duo is described as a simple video calling app with a minimal user interface. It allows the person being called to see live video of the person doing the calling before they answer. Google’s Hangouts app, which has had some success in enterprise use, is designed for groups as well as one-on-one chat. If users can accomplish tasks from within a single app, it may no longer matter as much what apps they have available to them in their smartphone’s app store.
