Google’s new video calling app – Duo – has been slated to launch this week in a bid to compete with the likes of FaceTime and Skype.
Video calling is an arena which is becoming increasingly competitive; we first heard rumours that chat giant WhatsApp would launch the feature earlier this year. Now, Google has beaten the Facebook-owned instant messaging app to the punch with Duo, its own solution for simple video calling.
Fortunately for Hangouts enthusiasts, Duo arrives as a supplementary app designed around the premise of simple, two-way video calling.
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Nick Fox, Google’s Vice President of communications products, offered his view that “The genesis of Duo was we really saw a gap when it came to video calling…We heard lots of frustration, which led to a lack of use – but we also heard a lot of desire and interest as well.”
The frustration Fox refers to is what Duo intends to fix. Duo allows users to preview callers to receive context ahead of a video call, and further visibly displays what connection the call will operate over – whether it be a wireless or mobile data connection.
https://youtu.be/CIeMysX76pM
Thankfully, Duo arrives as a cross-platform solution, ending the hegemony of FaceTime across iOS users and challenging the dominance of platforms such as Skype and Facebook’s Messenger.
The app further comes equipped with a number of improvements built around mobile networks; video call quality will adjust across the strength of a mobile connection (4G networks will accommodate HD calls, while 3G connections will accomodate lower resolutions) while 2G connections will pause video altogether and allow audio to continue transmission.
The app will be the first of Google’s new complement to arrive this week, and will be followed by Allo, Google’s new cross-platform instant messaging client.
Read: Google unveils Allo, its new chat app
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Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryansmithSA
