Google’s Video Chat App Reaches 1 Million Downloads 

Duo, the video chat app by Google has reached a colossal 1 million user downloads on its Google Play Store. This is not new ground for Google, four years ago (2014) the search engine’s Gmail app was the first ever to reach the one billion installation milestone.

Duo was launched a few years after that in 2016. It was launched in May of that year alongside Allo, which is also a messaging app – unlike Duo, Allo will be sunsetted a few months into 2019. The search engine’s decision to focus on Duo has already paid off, with the website Android Police reporting that it has just reached the mythical one billion downloads marker last week.

What is Duo?

A Google Play editor’s choice app, Duo has a 4.6 star user rating on the store. It is a high quality video calling app, meaning users can download Duo and then make video calls at no cost to any of their contacts.

It is available for both smartphone and tablet devices and already comes pre-installed on my Android phones and tablets – a fact that has undoubtedly helped it to reach the 1 billion installation mark. As Android Police notes, it would be extremely difficult for any app – made by Google or not – to reach such a high level of installs without coming pre-loaded on new devices.

Duo is available for both Android and iOS devices. Users can make voice calls as well as video calls and, if the contact doesn’t pick up, leave a video message as a voicemail for when their friend or family member does get online.

Many of its Google Play Store reviews give a thumbs up for the video quality of the calls, suggesting the app lives up to its promise those some say a better notification system is needed.