Allo is the recent injured party in Google ’s long and commonplace route to building a schmoose app that can rival Apple ’s iMessage . Afterpassing on further Allo investmentback in April , Googleofficially announcedthis week that it ’s pulling the cud on the confab app in March 2019 .
Are we surprised ? Not really . Google ’s always made a good deal of its messaging strategy .
Allo popped onto the shot in September 2016 , and it was opine to be asmarter message appthat let people get more out of their text . It let you post stickers à la Facebook Messenger , and had Google Assistant built in . That said , when Google paused investment , it also ported over its most popular feature like voguish replies , GIFs , and desktop support to the Messages app . It did n’t help that at launching , Allo did n’t support SMS . ( If you were one the few who liked Allo , you’re able to find instructions on how to back up your stuffhere . )
But Allo is just another cadaver in the burying ground of failed Google communication products . To name a few , there’sGoogle Wave , Google Buzz , Gchat , ansGoogle Spaces . The proclamation also basically confirmedHangoutswill be split into Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet . And while regular consumer will still have admission to the service , Google did n’t offer any clues to timing and stressed Hangouts will be enterprise focused . Duo , another Google picture call app , is miraculously still alive as Google cited consumer success — though for how long is anyone ’s guess .
At the moment , Google seems to be pin its Hope on its Messages app . in the beginning this year , it announcedChat , another confusingly named military service that , yes , is different from Gchat and no , is n’t another freaking app . Chat is Google ’s attack at getting nomadic aircraft carrier to embrace the Rich Communication Services ( RCS ) protocol and do away with SMS . While it was ab initio aimed to roll out sometime this year , it count likeVerizon might be the first to assume RCS in 2019 . That ’s a long manner of saying this Google armed service will finally back up feature like read receipt , typing index , better group text , and full resolving power videos and photos . Things that iMessage already has and has had for year .
Whether Chat succeeds will look on carriers , as Google ca n’t just say “ Okay fam , we ’re all RCS now . ” And as you’re able to already venture , Apple ’s not on table . After all , its iMessages app has pile of features that Chat wo n’t , including positioning sharing , textual matter effect , and crucially , end - to - end encryption .
But if Google really is go all - in on content , then pour down Allo makes a short ton of sense . Not only does it simplify its fractured communication theory strategy to just FIVE apps , it ’s harvest the best parts of Allo to bring Messages up to fastness . RIP Allo . You were n’t prospicient for this cruel human beings , but at least your death was n’t totally meaningless .
[ 9to5Google ]
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