It’s handy for call screening and may inspire callers to engage in goofy hijinks to entice you into picking up. Knock Knock refers to a preview feature that shows live video of the caller before you accept the call. That’s Duo in a nutshell - I told you it was simple - although there is one novel twist, called Knock Knock. Tap the screen during a call to display buttons for muting the mic, swapping to the other camera, and ending the call. When you turn the phone to landscape mode, the video window adjusts to the new orientation, but if the other person doesn’t also rotate their phone, you’ll see gray bars on both sides of the picture. You can tap that button to switch places, showing your face full-screen and the other party in the bubble The actual call interface shows the other person full-screen, giving you a small bubble off to the side so you can make sure you’re properly framed. I derive comfort as a newly minted empty nester from having a dedicated button for my kiddo available for the tapping anytime. Once you have a couple of calls under your belt, buttons for those contacts appear alongside the Video Call button, nudging it leftward. If not, it texts out an invitation to install the app. If that person is a Duo user, the app initiates a call. You’re then presented with a minimalist interface – a video window at the top and a Video Call button at the bottom. Punch in your digits, and the app texts you a confirmation number. Simple as Can Be - Duo was designed from the ground up – and separately from Google’s other video chat app, Hangouts – to be simple and easy to use.Īll it requires for setup is your mobile phone number, which is what other Duo users need to reach you. However, Duo won’t be the ideal choice for all iPhone users, and FaceTime is likely to remain the default for those using Apple gear. Its radical simplicity also makes competing apps look convoluted. The previously announced video chat app has a potentially broad audience since it works on both the iPhone and Android phones (see “ Google I/O 2016 Includes Announcements with Apple Appeal,” ). Our family has other options, including Skype (a favorite of my Mac-centric better half) and Facebook Messenger (to which my son and I are addicted).īut Google has just swooped in with an intriguing third option: Duo. Apple has said nothing about this lately, and I’m not holding my breath. Apple’s video chat service doesn’t work outside the Mac and iOS ecosystems despite Apple’s early assurances that it would be made an open standard at some point. This platform gap creates a problem: how will we video chat with our young man?įaceTime isn’t an option. While we’re an Apple household, he’s carrying a Google Nexus 5X on Google’s Project-Fi cell service. Our son is off to college, taking his first smartphone with him. Google’s Duo Video Chat App Links iOS and Android #1694: OS text display bug fixed, CTA Tech Trends from CES, what TidBITS readers would pay for a Vision Pro, Pong Wars.#1695: Arc Instant Links, HomeKit 2.4 GHz mystery, Authy Desktop ending, Apple report card.#1696: Living with the Vision Pro, Apple Sports app, choosing SSDs, iMessage encryption, toketaWare shut down, when do you install macOS updates?.#1697: New M3 MacBook Air models, poll results and advice on macOS updates, Apple Car canceled, EU fines Apple $2 billion.#1698: OS updates add podcast transcripts, Listen Later text-to-podcast service, hybrid Mac-iPad laptop, Vision Pro in healthcare.
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