Google's video chat app Duo will get audio calls 'soon'

Good to know.
 By 
Stan Schroeder
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Google Duo, Google's recently launched, dead-simple video calling app, will get an option to make audio-only calls soon.

The news comes from Google's product lead for communication Amit Fulay (spotted by Android Police), who confirmed it in a comment on his Google Plus page.

Fulay's announcement was as short as they come -- "coming soon" is all he wrote -- but it's an important addition to the app that's poised to (largely) replace Hangouts, which in turn will become an enterprise-oriented service.


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Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

To many users (you can judge even by the comments on Fulay's post) it seems too fine a granulation to have a separate app for video and audio calls, as the two are so similar in nature. Furthermore, in poor connection areas, video calling might be too choppy, so simply making an audio-only call is a preferable option.

It's worth noting that Duo currently automatically turns a video call into an audio-only call when the connection is bad, but there's no option to start an audio call right from the get go.

Topics Google

Stan Schroeder
Stan Schroeder
Senior Editor

Stan is a Senior Editor at Mashable, where he has worked since 2007. He's got more battery-powered gadgets and band t-shirts than you. He writes about the next groundbreaking thing. Typically, this is a phone, a coin, or a car. His ultimate goal is to know something about everything.

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