Google Duo is less than a few weeks old following its official release last month.
The app was introduced during the Google I/O 2016 event back in May, with the sole of aim of becoming the go-to video calling app on Android and iOS devices.
Even though Google is still a force in the smartphone communications world, the likes of Facebook Messenger are an even bigger force. In fact, the messaging and calling app has introduced a new feature to take on the video-centric Google Duo. Dubbed Instant Video, the Facebook Messenger feature comes in to simplify the act of video calls on the app – a feature that is already on offer via the Facebook-owned platform.
For starters, the approach taken by Facebook Messenger with its new Instant Video does not do away with the previous video calling icon. However, the nifty addition to the feature allows those in an active conversation to tap it at the top corner in order to start sharing the video instantly, however, audio is off by default.
The video will float on top of your ongoing text conversation and in this way, you can easily view as well as keep texting at the same time. The good side of this Instant Video feature of Facebook Messenger is that the person on the other end doesn’t need to send back a video in case they are not interested.
As noted earlier, Facebook Messenger already supports video calling where one user initiates a call and the other has to accept it. This is changing with the Instant Video feature, something that could prove to be a huge threat for the new Google Duo app. Keep in mind that using the Instant Video on Facebook Messenger requires that both parties have the latest version of the app installed on their phones.
The feature is rolling out gradually and as such, don’t fret in case it is not appearing in your Facebook Messenger conversations.