Google Duo is a video chat mobile app developed by Google, available on the Android and iOS operating systems. It was announced at Google I/O on May 18, 2016,[3] and began its worldwide release on August 16, 2016.[4][5][6]

History

Google Duo quickly climbed to the number one free app on Google Play within two days of its initial release,[7] but it fell to the 127th place not long after.[8]

In an email sent to Android phone manufacturers on October 5, 2016, Google announced that, starting December 1, 2016, Google Duo will replace Hangouts within the suite of Google apps Android phone makers must pre-install on devices, with Hangouts instead becoming an optional app for phone makers to pre-install.[9]

Features

Google advertises several features of the app:[10]

  • HD 720p video
  • Optimized for low bandwidth mobile networks. The app optimizes WebRTC and uses QUIC over UDP. Optimisation is further achieved through the degradation of video quality through monitoring network quality.[3]
  • "Knock Knock" – an Android-only feature[11] which shows a live preview of the caller before the recipient picks up, which Google says is to "make calls feel more like an invitation rather than an interruption".[4]
  • End-to-end encryption by default
  • Google Assistant support.
  • Use of phone numbers to allow users to easily call people from their contact list
  • Automatic switching between Wi-Fi and mobile data

See also

References

  1. ^ "Google Duo on the Google Play Store". Google Play. Google. November 10, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2016. 
  2. ^ "Google Duo on the iOS App Store". iTunes. Apple. November 22, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2016. 
  3. ^ a b Bohn, Dieter (May 18, 2016). "Google Duo makes mobile video calls fast and simple". The Verge. Retrieved October 21, 2016. 
  4. ^ a b Uberti, Justin (August 15, 2016). "Meet Google Duo, a simple 1-to-1 video calling app for everyone". Google Blog. Google. Retrieved October 21, 2016. 
  5. ^ Amadeo, Ron (August 16, 2016). "Google launches Duo, a barebones video calling app". Ars Technica. Retrieved October 21, 2016. 
  6. ^ Gibbs, Samuel (16 August 2016). "Duo video calling app: Google launches cross-platform answer to FaceTime". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 16 August 2016. 
  7. ^ Gao, Richard (August 18, 2016). "Google Duo now #1 in Top Free chart, available globally". Android Police. Retrieved October 21, 2016. 
  8. ^ Gao, Richard (September 14, 2016). "Google Duo hits 10 million downloads on Android, but it's not doing so well on Top Charts". Android Police. Retrieved October 21, 2016. 
  9. ^ Ruddock, David (October 7, 2016). "Google is demoting Hangouts to "optional" in the Google Apps package for Android, to be replaced by Duo". Android Police. Retrieved October 20, 2016. 
  10. ^ Fulay, Amit; Adan, Yariv (May 18, 2016). "Saying 👋 to Allo and Duo: new apps for smart messaging and video calling". Google Blog. Google. Retrieved October 21, 2016. 
  11. ^ Orr, Andrew (May 18, 2016). "Knock knock! Who's there? Google Duo!". AndroidGuys. Retrieved June 9, 2016. 

External links