Google’s video chat app Duo has now been downloaded more than 1 billion times on Google Play. The company launched Duo in 2016 along with instant messaging app Allo with much fanfare. “Duo hit 500 million downloads just six months ago, so another 500 million in that time span is pretty impressive,” tech website Android Police reported late on Saturday. Also Read - Worried about WhatsApp sharing your data? You're already sharing a lot with its parent Facebook
In 2018, the company launched Duo support for iPad, Android Tablet, Chromebook, and Smart Displays. Earlier, the company has also said that its messaging app Allo will not work after March 2019 as the company focuses on improving its Android messaging and video calling app Duo. Also Read - 5 tips to keep in mind before buying a second-hand smartphone
Allo is Google’s messaging rival to WhatsApp and Apple iMessage — is an instant messaging mobile app for the Android and iOS mobile Operating Systems (OS), with a web client available on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Opera browsers. Also Read - Happy Republic Day 2021: How to send Republic Day 2021 wishes Stickers on WhatsApp
Besides Duo, other free Google apps with over one billion downloads include Gmail, Maps, YouTube, Google, Google+, Google Text-to-Speech, Google Play Books, Hangouts, Google Chrome, Google Play Games, Android Accessibility Suite, Google Play Music, Google News, Google Play Movies & TV, Google Drive, Google Photos and Google Street View.
Separately, Smallbiztrends reported that “Google is upgrading its Hangouts platform so businesses can collaborate more efficiently and with greater ease. Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet will allow teams to come together without worrying about compatibility issues.”