Google I/O is like Christmas for smartphone fans. At their annual developer's conference, the Mountain View search giant gave us a glimpse of what they've been working on over the past year—and they've been quite busy, to say the least.
Immediately after introducing a new AI-powered messaging service called Allo, Google announced a companion service that aims to make video calling more accessible.
The video chat service, dubbed Duo, is packed to the brim with software optimizations that will keep the feed going in crystal-clear HD quality, but one feature in particular separates it from the competition.
As you can see in the video above, Duo uses a unique incoming call screen (called Knock Knock) that displays a live feed of the caller's camera. This means that when you receive a video call, you'll be able to jump right into the conversation without fumbling through greetings—a feature that Google hopes will cause more users to jump right into the service.
As with all things Google, Duo will be a cross-platform service, which is a particularly important aspect when it comes to video calling. A dedicated app is coming to Android and iOS this summer, and we can safely assume that a desktop version will be made available to Windows, Mac, and Linux users by way of a Chrome extension.
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Cover image via Google/YouTube
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