Google’s efforts with messaging apps haven’t always resulted in success. In fact, pretty often they result in complete failure. Luckily, though, they seem to be starting to figure things out a little bit better. With RCS rolling out to all devices independently of your carrier or device, Android users may very well get close to the iMessage experience iPhone users have been enjoying for years. Before they figured that one out, though, they had other jabs at messaging, including a duo (no pun intended) of apps called Allo and Duo. While Allo has already died, Duo has become successful, turning into a go-to FaceTime alternative for Android.
Not only that, but Duo also gets frequently updated with new features, including a Material Theme makeover not too long ago that makes the app fit with Android’s newest aesthetic. Now, the app is also getting emoji reactions for video messages. This feature is pretty similar to the one we’ve seen in apps such as Facebook, where you’re able to use different reactions for posts, photos and now stories as well. Instagram also introduced an option to allow users to react to stories using emojis. This feature sort of follows the footsteps of Facebook and Instagram by adding emoji reactions expressing laughter, love, and sadness to video messages in Duo, which can be viewed by the sender and, in the case of a group message, by everyone in the group.
I’m personally not a regular Duo user of any kind, but for those who commonly share video messages in Duo on a regular basis, this is probably quite a nifty feature. The update should be rolling out now through the Play Store, so if this is something you’re looking forward to, then, by all means, go ahead and update.
Google Duo – High Quality Video Calls (Free, Google Play) →
Source: 9to5Google