Google launched Allo, a chat app with cool stickers, last year as a mobile-only app. The plan was to take on WhatsApp and other similar apps. But it hasn't worked. After the initial buzz and euphoria, Allo has vanished. It has been pushed out of the home screens of users and many don't even bother to download it anymore. But Google is still trying hard with Allo and is now working on a desktop version, which will let Allow users talk to each other whether they are using a mobile phone or a web browser on a computer.
Nick Fox, vice president of communications product at Google, has shared a screenshot in which we can see the desktop version of Allo. "Still in early development, but coming to a desktop near you," he wrote.
The first sneak peak of the Allo Web client was given away by Fox in a tweet that read, "Still in early development, but coming to a desktop near you." The screenshot shared by Fox clearly shows that the Allo on the Web will support the same features its mobile app, most notable of those being the Google Assistant bot. Allo's Smart Replies feature, where it suggests responses to messages, also appears to have been carried over to the Web app for Allo. Also seen are stickers. Unfortunately, Fox doesn't reveal an exact timeline for the release of the Allo app but he does refer it to be "still in early development." To recall, Google revealed that the Allo app was first made available in India.
When Allo launched last year, Google should have exploited the fact that WhatsApp is very weak on desktop, and should have launched Allo with a web app. Instead, Google attempted to fight WhatsApp on mobile, a platform where the Facebook-owned is strongest. And if the last few months are any indication, it has lost that fight. No one uses Allo nowadays.
At the same time, Google also has to deal with the fact that it has too many chat apps at the moment, and that muddles the message that it sends to users. The company offers Google Hangouts, which is available on both web and mobile, as well as the Messenger that is a plain text messaging app (similar to SMS) on Android phones. Then there is Duo, which was launched along with Allo. Duo allows users to make video calls, something that Hangouts too offers.
Nick Fox, vice president of communications product at Google, has shared a screenshot in which we can see the desktop version of Allo. "Still in early development, but coming to a desktop near you," he wrote.
Still in early development, but coming to a desktop near you... #GoogleAllo #SneakPeek pic.twitter.com/f7QNFH7IHO— Nick Fox (@RealNickFox) February 24, 2017
When Allo launched last year, Google should have exploited the fact that WhatsApp is very weak on desktop, and should have launched Allo with a web app. Instead, Google attempted to fight WhatsApp on mobile, a platform where the Facebook-owned is strongest. And if the last few months are any indication, it has lost that fight. No one uses Allo nowadays.
At the same time, Google also has to deal with the fact that it has too many chat apps at the moment, and that muddles the message that it sends to users. The company offers Google Hangouts, which is available on both web and mobile, as well as the Messenger that is a plain text messaging app (similar to SMS) on Android phones. Then there is Duo, which was launched along with Allo. Duo allows users to make video calls, something that Hangouts too offers.
Google's Allo Messenger App May Come to Desktop, Web Browsers Soon
Reviewed by Tech Ugly
on
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Rating:
Reviewed by Tech Ugly
on
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Rating:
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