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Earlier this week, Google launched Duo, its new simple video calling app that works on both iOS and Android. Compared to other numerous video calling services out there, Duo lacks a lot of features, including some basic ones like video calling. However, Google aims to make up for it with Duo’s ability to work even on spotty data connections.
Duo has also been panned by many for its lack of being able to only make audio calls. Responding to a comment on Google+, Amit Fulay, the Product Lead for Communications at Google has revealed that Duo will soon be getting the ability to make audio calls only. Considering how efficient Duo is with bandwidth, providing an audio call only option can come in handy for users when they are on a slow Wi-Fi or 2G network.
With Google ignoring Hangouts over the years and now launching a completely new video calling app, the company needs to work on quickly fixing the shortcomings of Duo if it does not want one more failed communication app on its hand. Unlike Hangouts, Duo is associated to a particular phone number like WhatsApp and can only work on one device at any given time. It also only works on smartphones, with no app for desktops being available. These limitations make Duo inferior to Hangouts, but then Google’s aim with Duo seems to be making video calling simpler to use.
[Via +Amit Fulay]
