In an official announcement, it was confirmed that the latest version of Google Duo V29.1 was officially rolled out on Android and iOS platforms.
The update brings Video Messages to the platform enabling users to easily leave a message when the recipient is unable to pick up their phone for a live video call.
The feature was under development for sometime now and Duo’s lead engineer Justin Uberti confirmed that has now been rolled out to all iOS and Android devices. As long as you have the app installed on your smartphone, it will support video messages once you download the latest update. While the feature sounds incredibly useful and intuitive, users are still not happy with the laundry list of issues found in Google Duo.
📈 All systems go! #GoogleDuo video messages are now available for all Android and iOS users (running Duo v29 or later). Try it out today!https://t.co/QTCAgFqcOc pic.twitter.com/a70NxO5v0F
— Justin Uberti (@juberti) March 14, 2018
What Users Say About Google Duo?
Users are not so happy with Google Duo as a video calling app even though it offers the best video clarity when compared to other Android apps. The app even managed to go strongly against Apple’s FaceTime which is known for its impeccable video clarity but is available only on iOS devices.
Also Read : Google Duo Video Calling App Now Lets You Make Calls Without the App
When video messages were rolled out, users had a bunch of complaints to submit to the developer. One of the most criticized issues is that the video loses focus on the person when you switch from the front camera to the back camera to show the surrounding. Most people would like to seamlessly switch between cameras especially when making video calls as a group or when they want to show how beautiful their current location is.
Google Duo: Missing Features
Google Duo also lacks the ability to make group voice calls which continues to keep users in Hangouts. Right now, users are split and are left confused as they have to switch between multiple Google apps to get the job done. There are so many choices like Hangouts, Allo and Duo each designed to offer specific features but there is no way to seamlessly switch between these apps when making voice or video calls.
While the entire team is trying to do their best and push Duo as the best app for video calling on Android, some users are still unhappy that the app lacks all these important features. Besides, it is available both on iOS and Android but Apple offers FaceTime which is far superior in terms of quality and is feature rich. It is easy to spot in Twitter comments that many users hate the fact that Google has completely ditched Allo with no recent updates in sight.
Google should consider merging their apps for a seamless experience and not kill apps as they did with Gtalk besides so many other services in the past.