Google has confirmed it is shutting down Allo, the messaging app that it hoped would counter iMessage on iOS. Allo will be shut down as will Hangouts for consumers and all the messaging will be routed to Messages. Google has long taken a lot of flak for having too many messaging platforms and while Allo and Due were great for the few who used it, moving all the messaging features to Messages makes sense.
This is another indication that it is difficult for consumers to invest too much into Google products, which can be cancelled at a whim. It often feels like Google is using consumers to beta test their software and then pulling the plug on projects once they lose their lustre.
Source: Android Police