Google has officially announced the launch of it’s new video calling app, Duo, for Android and iOS devices. The app was originally announced during the Google I/O 2016 developer conference earlier this summer, along side Allo, an IM app, which is yet to be announced.
Duo is a 1 on 1 video calling app, which means there is no option for group video calls. The difference between Hangouts and Duo (or Allo), is that the latter uses your phone number, and doesn’t need a Google account to be used.
Google touts Duao as a network friendly app and service, which works on slow networks by reducing the resolution and call quality.In fact, it won’t drop calls when you switch between networks like your Wi-Fi and Mobile data. An important feature in Duo is Knock Knock, which lets the recipient see a video preview of the caller.
Oh, and for those worried about privacy and security, you should know that all Duo calls are end-to-end encrypted. Google recently updated the icon for Duo, and now we know why.
You can download Duo from the Google Play Store.
Google Duo rolls out for Android and iOS devices today, and will be available worldwide over the next few days, which means it’s a staged roll out as usual. But we are already seeing a bunch of new reviews on the Play Store, which means the app is already available for some people.
