Google announced on Wednesday the creation of two new apps, Allo for messaging and Duo for video calls.
Both of the apps were talking about during the Google I/O 2016 Keynote and will be based on the user’s phone numbers. Allo and Duo have features that set them apart from their competition.
Allo has features to make it easier for a person to express themselves in a conversation. The app has a feature called Expressions which are similar to emojis and stickers. Another feature is called Whisper Shout. This allows users to use a sliding to tool to decided if their words should be a “whisper” or a “shout” depending on the size. The user can also send photos and doodle on them, similar to Snapchat. Allo also has an incognito mode for extra privacy for some conversations.
The app “learns over time” so that it can better serve the individual user’s needs. This will lend its self into the Smart Reply feature which will come up with automatic responses to things people say and the more it is used the better it will be. It even comes up with automatic responses for photos, it can recognize that a photo of pasta is yummy or that a photo of a dog is cute and can even recognize the type of pasta or dog.
“In our internal testing we have found that Allo is 90% accurate in determining whether a dog deserves the cute dog response” joked Google Engineering Director Erik Kay.
As CommonGeek previously reported Google will be getting a new assistant and that program will be built right into Allo. For example, if a person suggests wanting Italian food a Smart Reply will come up with suggesting places a reservation can be made. A person can talk to the assistant by typing “@google” or going to their saved conversation for more information or to even play some games.
Duo meanwhile is Google’s new one-on-one video calling app. The app has been optimized to so that it will work even with a spotty connection and so that it won’t have trouble transitioning calls between cellular networks and Wi-Fi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIeMysX76pM
A standout feature with Duo is Knock Knock. Knock Knock shows a live video preview of the callers so that a person can see why they are calling. After the video call is answered Duo will go right into the call.
“Knock Knock invites you into the moment, making calls feel spontaneous and fun” Google said in a press release.
Allo and Duo will be available this summer for both Android and iOS.
