Google has just made one of the biggest tech announcements of the year with its unveiling of new messaging app, Allo.
Pronounced like “aloe”, it will be a mobile-only app where you sign up with your phone number and connect it to your Google accound.
Like Facebook Messenger, you can see all the usual stuff like sent and received notifications, emoji, and stickers from specially commissioned artists.
Allo lets you communicate with anyone in your phonebook—both Android and iOS. #IO16 pic.twitter.com/nhpxGJDRGP
— Google (@Google) May 18, 2016
According to The Verge when you send a photo, it shows fills up the whole screen, and you can even doodle on top of it like in Snapchat.
You can also drag your finger up and down to enlarge or shrink text before it’s sent, called ‘WhisperShout’.
What’s the big difference here, though?
Artificial intelligence (AI). Called the Google Assistant, it’s like Siri on the iPhone, but will actually suggest further searches for you and even engage in conversation.
The Google Assistant: a conversation between you and Google that helps you get things done in your world. #IO16 pic.twitter.com/0bjqyQxVKn
— Google (@Google) May 18, 2016
Inside the conversations with your friends, the Assistant will put suggested replies in the bottom called ‘suggestion chips’, powered by a massive machine-learning engine which will pick up on the manner in which you type.
For example if someone sends a picture of a new baby, an automated reply appears saying: ‘Congratulations!’
Duo, the video companion to Allo, is a simple one-to-one video calling app for everyone. #io16 pic.twitter.com/cj2ZZy54QQ
— Google (@Google) May 18, 2016
In terms of privacy, Google doesn’t hang onto your chat logs, and Allo will have an Incognito mode, where your conversations are encrypted end-to-end so they’re unreadable by the company.
They also hope to add expiring messages, like on Snapchat.
The Next Web report that Allo will be able to do a LOT for you:
“Allo can also make reservations for restaurants, if you want to meet up with friends. It can find sports scores, show you the roster of players; basically, a lot of what Google Search can do. You just don’t need to move away from Allo to tap intothe lighter features of Search.”
