At its I/O 2016 developer conference, Google announced two new messaging apps: Allo and Duo. The company thus doubled the number of messaging apps, which includes Hangouts and Messenger. For now it seems the company plans to keep them all, as it hasn't announced any retirements, or any merge applications.
VB requested clarifications from Google:
Η Allo είναι μια εφαρμογή ανταλλαγής μηνυμάτων που χρησιμοποιεί τον τηλεφωνικό σας αριθμό, είναι μόνο για κινητά, και αναπτύχθηκε ειδικά για να αξιοποιήσει τη μηχανική μάθηση της Google, για την επεξεργασία της φυσικής languages, and AI features that didn't exist a few years ago. Think of it as a child's toy from the company that aims to test the limits of what a mobile messaging app can do.
Η duo is an application video calls for one-to-one communication. It's mobile only, and developed to be fast, thanks to the Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC). It is assumed that there will be fewer call interruptions, and it will support Wi-Fi connections but also through a telephone provider.
The Hangouts is a messaging platform that exists here and 3 years that has merged many features such as SMS and video call support. It is cross-platform and works on desktops and laptops.
Ο Messenger is Google's messaging service, an SMS app standard for Android devices. The company uses the application to promote it Rich Communication Services (RCS), enabling Android devices to offer features such as group messaging, IP voice calls, and file sharing.
At present, Allo and Duo applications are not officially released, and will be available later this summer. All these applications are managed by the same team in Google (Communications product team), founded about one and a half years ago by Nick Fox.
We recently saw that Google announced Spaces. However, this service is not a messaging application, but a social application such as Google+.
Google's messaging app strategy has been confusing (in 2013, the company had Google Talk, Hangouts, and Google+ Messenger at the same time), and nothing seems to be changing. Meanwhile competitors WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger (both owned by Facebook) are both the top messaging apps, with 1 billion and 900 million users, Respectively.
Facebook is totally dominated by space, and Google just seems to be experimenting. The company seems to be deploying applications from scratch to understand what could work as an innovation.
The difference between the two latest applications is the use of AI technologies and mechanical learning, but two features that have already incorporated Facebook.
Let's hope that one day Google will end up with a messaging app.
