Google has announced a new app for messaging on 18th May 2016 at the I/O conference.
It has been named as “Allo” (pronounced as “Aloe”). The most important feature of this application is a Google assistant that has been put together, right inside the app. Google claims that Allo will be a free app without any subscription fee. It will be available on both the Android and iOS platforms sometime later in the summer. There might be a misconception that Allo is here to replace the other messaging app from Google, the Hangouts. Hold on! That is definitely not the truth. Allo has been developed absolutely with the idea to start something afresh for the communication sector of Google, which also has Project Fi and hangouts running under it.
Google’s officials say that starting a new app like Allo from the scratch is very liberating, giving the app world a fresh and a brand-new start. Allo’s user interface is simple, proficient and is easily understandable. It has a few smart and brainy gimmicks and quantum leaps, like what is available on the other instant messaging apps like Messenger or WhatsApp.
The Basics to Start with!
Let us begin with a few basic steps to start off using the Allo app. Once you install the app on your smartphone, you will have to sign up using your phone number. You can also connect then with your Google account, though it is not mandatory. You will find the conventional stuff as found on the other chat apps. This stuff includes indicators for sent and received messages and a huge collection of emojis and various stickers. The communication product team from Google claims that it has appointed artists to bring into existence stickers and emojis that have a wide and ensured diversity in choices. These stickers and emojis have been created keeping in mind users from India and America.
Sending photos would never get interesting if not for this new app. When you need to send a photo, the picture opens up fully blown on the screen. You can fiddle your way through the photo and edit it before it is sent. You can also drag your finger either up and down on the icon or button to zoom in and zoom out the text. “WhisperShout” is the name given to this feature by Google.
Limitations of the app
Despite the fact that Allo is fast and Google is powerful, it seems not enough to draw the attention of the users. Though the new app seems to have extraordinary features, undoubtedly there are a few limitations too. The biggest fallout of the app is that “Google” is the only chatbot that you will be talking to, while using Allo. The company does not seem ready to dig in deep with various chatbots and this makes Google different from the other tech giants rather than following their footsteps. This action seems to be deliberate to stay away from numerous odds and ends of new things until everything has the right interaction. That is probably the right decision as of now, given the flat response to the other bots on Facebook Messenger. But this is a hot feature which is sure to gear up quickly, so it is obvious that Google will also need to speed up its progress and give breakthrough advances.
If not for these new innovative features, Allo wouldn’t have a reason to exist and talk out loud that is different from the other already existing and popular chat apps. But Google seems to think that the success agenda for starting a new app like Allo is the name of the biggie itself.
Google definitely cannot rectify the mistakes that happened with Hangouts, which has been in the market for almost three years. The only thing Google can do now, to make up for these errors, is to build a new and a better app. Allo is definitely the right product from Google, with the features that make it a better app than the existing instant messaging apps. Still there needs to be a lot better substance to this app so that it can really compete up to the level of Apple and Facebook.