Google pauses development of Allo, focuses on Android Messages

With Google Allo not picking up as people’s messaging app of choice, the tech giant has decided to take a step back from developing the app. According to Anil Sabharwal, Google’s new head of the communications group, the have decided to “pause investment” on Allo and have the team focus Android Messages. Their team is putting all of its resources that it can in the development of tis Rich Communication Services, specifically the service it’s calling Chat. This is Google’s latest effort to create a messaging service that can rival iMessage and other big messaging apps like Facebook Messenger.

At the moment, Google will continue to support Allo. It hasn’t decided yet what to do with the app. According to Sabharwal, they just needed the team to support Android Messages as soon as possible. But he adds, “We want to do right by users. We want to make the right decisions here, and we don’t want to rush anything.”

Source: The Verge

Google Allo adds reactions to individual messages

You’ve seen this on Facebook Messenger for a while, now Google is bringing it into its own messaging app, Allo. The Android app will let you “heart” an individual message with a simple tap. There are no other reactions available yet but we won’t be surprised if Google will bring that in soon. The number of people who like the post will also be shown as a badge. It’s a useful feature for large group chats and you just want to react to a specific statement without having to make a pithy statement. Version 14 of the app just started rolling out so it may or may not come on your device just yet. Do you use Allo? What’s your favorite thing about it?

Source: GSMArena

Google Allo will let you create custom GIFs as a reply

It’s something that Giphy Cam does but now baked into Google’s Allo messenger. The chat app will let you record selfie clips that come out as looped GIFs to show a more personalized reply to a message. The update, according to Allo’s Head of Product Amit Fulay, is now available to all users. So if you love GIFs, now’s a good time to download Allo.

Source: Engadget

Google Allo gets new Assistant button

Google Allo has started to roll out a new feature to give you quicker access to Google Assistant. The app now gets a quick access button and Google plans to roll this out to all users. What this does is it makes it easier to share information within your chat windows. All you need to do is tap on the Google Assistant button and you and the people you’re chatting with can see the answers. Other new features expected to come to Allo in future updates include a new “quick selfie” feature, backup and restore, and the ability to add stickers to photos.

Source: 9to5Google