BENGALURU: Making a headway into the league of leading video calling apps in the lines of  Apple's FaceTime, Microsoft's Skype and Facebook's Messenger, the search engine giant Google has now introduced an app named ‘Duo’. Offering almost similar features like the other apps, the only innovative thing that makes Duo stand apart is its ‘Knock Knock’ live preview feature. It enables the recipient to see the caller, which helps them to decide whether or not to answer the call. Announced in the month of May, Duo will be available as a free service for phones operating on the Google's Android platform and Apple's iPhones.

The ‘Duo’ app only requires the user’s phone number to establish a connection, a similar feature which already exists in the FaceTime app used in iPhones. Many other apps require the users to complete the task of logging in before using the video call service, whereas Duo simplifies this with its unique feature.

Although Google’s Hangouts app has been around for a long time, the search giant is now customizing that service to specifically focus on business meetings. Featuring a simple interface, Duo is expected to be a more reliable option for seeing and talking to family and friends. Owned by the Alphabet Inc, Duo happens to be the first among the two new apps planned to be launched by Google this summer. Surpassing the frontiers of innovation, the Mountain View, California, is also expected to introduce a new app known as Allo that includes a robotic assistant specifically developed to deliver automated responses to text messages.

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Google Launches Duo To Take On Apple's Facetime, Skype