Google Allo Shutting Down, Duo and Messages Support on the way

2018 has been quite a year for Google, with their development of AI technology, a push for a mobile-friendly search, and some of their services shutting down. For the latter, Google has been shutting down a good amount of their services in an attempt to integrate their features into more comprehensive apps that aim to have enhanced functionality that would become the best option for users.

Another set of Google services shutting down is Google Allo. Google Allo is a messaging app that was launched in 2016 and was Google’s attempt to compete with the likes of WhatsApp, LINE, Viber, and Telegram. The app allows basic messaging, sending images and video, and was even the app that introduced Google Assistant to many users. Despite introducing Google’s popular AI assistant, Google Allo did not reach the heights that its competition was able to reach, which is why it would be shutting down on March 2019.

Along with Google Allo, the original Google Hangouts will also be shut down, with Google aiming to migrate that user base into Hangouts Meet and Hangouts Chat. Google Hangouts is one of Google’s most well-known apps and has even featured in popular media such as films. It was an essential tool that allows users to set up meetings much more efficiently and makes it easier to communicate without having to move to other apps.

With the shutting down of these two messaging services, Google will focus their efforts on Google Duo and Android Messages and create an improved messaging platform for Android users. Here are our thoughts on the impact of Google Allo, and how Google’ aims to optimize their messaging and communication.

Smoother Messaging on Google

Google has always been about optimizing their services to ensure that they provide the best user experience. With Allo and the original Hangouts slowly moving out of the picture, Google’s future plans for a more comprehensive messaging system on Android will now be able to progress.

The future set-up would consist of Android Messages, Google Duo, Hangouts Meet, and Hangouts Chat. This would ensure that users would be able to communicate much better as these systems have been integrated seamlessly. Messages would be the primary platform for messaging, while Google Duo allows video chat. Hangouts Meet and Chat are platforms for office communication, which works well for corporate meetings and internal communications. When it comes to Google Duo, the app has seen success, as it has a solid user base and functionality that works well.

Overall, the future looks good for messaging on Google. But the amount of messaging apps available may prove to be their biggest challenge, as most of these platforms have an established following. This will surely be a big challenge for Google in the upcoming years, but should they be successful, this will surely become another important Google staple.

Shutting Down Services

With Google Allo and the original Hangouts shutting down, this marks another one of Google’s services shutting down. In the past few months, Google Inbox and Google+ will also be shut down in 2019, with the former’s features being integrated into Gmail. The amount of services being shut down by Google is quite concerning, as platforms like Allo and Inbox were platforms that introduced new Google features that would become important today.

One of the main reasons why these services have been shut down was due to the low number of users. With the abundance of similar services, it is always a challenge to gather users to your platform, as most users would not leave services that they have grown accustomed to. Building up a user base requires a good amount of time, which means that it might take a while until Google’s new messaging services attain a solid user base.

Key Takeaway

Google has had a good amount of challenges over the past few months, and the shutting down of their services are their steps to continue improving their products for their users. I’m looking forward to seeing what the new messaging systems offer, and how they integrate into Android to create a more Google-centric ecosystem where all tools and services are seamlessly working together.

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