Google Launches Allo, A ‘Smarter’ Messaging Platforms

A report from yesterday hinted that Google could be looking to hop on board the chatbot bandwagon, in which the end result would be similar to what Facebook has done with their Messenger platform. It seems that the rumors were true because Google has since announced a new messaging platform called Allo.

At its core, Allo is another messaging platform in which users can chat with each other. However Google has placed a lot of emphasis on how the app will allow users to be more expressive thanks to stickers and emojis designed by artists around the world. They have also introduced features like whisper and shout, which basically allows users to determine how big the text size of a reply is.

There is also a built-in image editor that lets users edit images within the app and send it without having to leave the chat. The idea behind it is to ensure that users won’t need to keep swapping apps, which brings us to Google Assistant. Allo will come with Google Assistant built into it and will allow users to make restaurant bookings and ask it all kinds of questions, like sports scores updates, trivia, and even play games.

The app will also feature the same smart reply function found in Inbox by Gmail. This allows for quicker replies and the best part is that it will learn your chat habits and over time, it will offer up replies that will sound like it came from you, not via machine learning. The smart reply feature is so smart that it can actually identify photos as well, like a breed of a dog, a dish, and its ingredients.

There is even an incognito mode which ensures that users can keep chats private. There will be end-to-end encryption and messages that are deleted will stay deleted forever. Users can even set messages to expire.

In addition to Allo, Google also announced Duo. This is an accompanying app to Allo and is essentially a video calling app. One of the features of Duo is called Knock Knock. This will show users a live preview of the person calling even before you answer. Google has also emphasized how there will not be a delay between the call and the answering of the call.

Both Allo and Duo will be available on iOS and Android and will be seeing a release this coming summer.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: allo, Apps, duo, Google, Google i/o 2016, google io