Long awaited video calling app ‘Google Duo’ was launched yesterday by the tech giant Google. The app is available both on iOS and Android platforms. Google announced this app 3 months back at its I/O developer conference.
The app is built roughly on the lines of Apple’s FaceTime App which is built into all iPhones and Macs. Tech analysts and journalists had a hunch that ‘Duo’ would be something like Skype or Google Hangouts. But on the contrary, Duo is all about simplicity and quality and it’s all about video calling.
Google’s group manager quoted that “Users are reluctant to video call because they don’t know if the other person is on the right network, the right device or it’s a good time to call. We’ve tried to remove all that friction and make it feel like an invitation, not an interruption when someone calls you.”
All the Google services require a gmail account to function but this is the first product which functions even without a Google account. Users interested to use ‘Duos’ can register themselves using their phone numbers instead of their Gmail. It is following more or less the same concept as WhatsApp which is relied solely on the user’s phone number.
Recently, Facebook messenger app also walked an extra mile by allowing users to sign in into the app just by entering the phone number and interestingly, FB Messenger too has the feature of video calling.
Fulay further added that: “there is a higher probability of people having their phone number rather than having a specific social media or email account. Hence, using the phone number make the things a lot easier.”
Duo’s most desirable and notable feature is called ‘Knock Knock.’ This is a completely out of the box feature that allows you have a glimpse of the live video of the caller even before you can even answer. Further to this, if even after 30 seconds, the call remains unanswered, the call would be automatically disconnected which in turn would leave the caller wondering what prompted you to ignore the call. However, some people who are more social may find this feature a little absurd.
Conclusion
Duo being a Google’s product has created enough hype but it’s success is hugely dependant on how many Android phones, this app comes pre-installed. Apps like Google Hangouts, Google Drive etc. come as system apps with every Android phone or tablet. But it is facing serious competition from Microsoft which has joined hands with the biggest Android phone manufacturer Samsung. These days, if you buy a samsung smartphone, you would get the pre-loaded Skype app. If the above mentioned task is accomplished by Google, then that day is not far away when it would become the most preferred video calling app across all the platforms.
What do you think of Duo Video calling App? Let us know in the comment box.
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