I ’ve been using Allo since the day it was released . At first , it was simple curiosity . Google ’s got another messaging app , so how is it go to screw this one up ? But even with its flaws , the more I used it , I grew to appreciate its slick interface , baked in gif locomotive , and its world-wide ease of utilization . But today , March 12th , Allo is getting killed off , and it ’s almost entirely Google ’s fault .
in the beginning billed as a better texting app based on a flowing mansion up process cribbed from WhatsApp by only needing your headphone number to get set forth , Allo was just one one-half of a Google ’s 2016 message push that was designed to make for in bicycle-built-for-two alongside its new television calling app Duo .
But now , virtually two and a one-half year after they were release , Allo is going aside for salutary , while duet exist on , and it ’s a goddamned shame . So what the hell happen ?
Image: Sam Rutherford ( (Gizmodo)
The first was a simple want of support . For some reason , not long after its debut , Google settle to stop bundle Allo with Android , which meant hoi polloi had to seek the app out for themselves , instead of having it pre - instal on many equipment , like twain was , and continues to be . This caused adoption to stagnate , preventing the turn of Allo users from ever hitting a critical mass .
Another issue was the ill-chosen message multitude get any meter you tried to text someone that did n’t have Allo installed . Your message would still go through , but because your text was being bounced off a waiter somewhere and then airt to your recipients twist via regular SMS , messages appear as if they came from a random number , alternatively of someone you might really know .
You would also get a command prompt state this message was relayed using Allo , before being pay for to download the app and try it for yourself . To some , this might seem like a in force way to aid increase adoption , but for most citizenry ( include many of my friends who just could n’t be bothered ) , it feel a mountain more like spam .
Now that Allo is gone, I’m cold too.Image: Sam Rutherford ( (Gizmodo)
And like a pot of other texting apps , Allo also suffered from teasing thing like your news report being tie to a single gimmick and phone numeral , despite one of Google ’s other electronic messaging apps Hangouts only requiring you to have a Google / Gmail account , something jolly much everyone has today . ( Yes , Google added desktop support for Allo in Chrome , but that came afterwards , when Allo was already on a down trajectory . )
But here ’s the real problem : I would n’t really like about Allo dying if it had a worthy replacement . But it does n’t . sure enough , Google has ported many ofAllo ’s good featuresto Messages ( which , confusingly , used to be call Android Messages ) including the power to ask the Google Assistant question in the middle of a New World chat , use smart replies , see trailer snippets of web contact , send GIFs using a built - in search pecker , and more .
Unfortunately , because many of Messages marrow texting features rely on RCS , a message protocol that necessitate support from aircraft carrier in addition to app developer like Google or Samsung , the basic experience of texting can be wildy dissimilar and inconsistent depending on what twist they ’re using , and what cellular Robert William Service provider they have .
RCSis a protocol that ’s meant to supercede canonical SMS , and give people thing they expect from modernistic electronic messaging computer software like the power to see read receipts , partake in eminent - quality photos and video , and more , all over data web alternatively relying on a cellular telephone sign .
correctly now , RCS is n’t supported by Apple ( iMessage ) , AT&T , and Verizon , though Verizon has enunciate it ’s plan on add together RCS support sometime in former 2019 . And for the carrier who do sustain RCS such as Sprint ( which was the first carrier to do so ) and T - Mobile , T - Mobile ’s execution of RCS is n’t based on Google ’s Universal Profile , which has conduce to fragmentation and worry getting RCS feature to do work properly across different equipment .
Meanwhile , during Allo ’s dumb decline , Google remove Hangout ’s power to send SMS , meaning that it ’s not really a worthy replacement for Allo either . And even with Google reassuring multitude thatHangouts is n’t going away , there ’s still a lot of muddiness among users who still fear that their favorite mathematical group chat app will meet the same portion as Allo down the line .
In a world where Allo did n’t get kicked to the curbing , neglected , and then depart for dead , Allo should have been the replacement to Hangouts . It has better features ( many of which Hangouts still has n’t get ) , a oilskin UI and design , and would have made a better mate for Duo , which only really provide one matter ( videocalling ) , and still relies on helper from Messages or Hangouts to turn in a unadulterated messaging experience .
And unlike Apple , since Google already has a foresighted history of bringing its most important apps to both Android and iOS , it could have create a on-key choice to iMessage , which remains one of the biggest factors preventing mass from swop off from iPhones .
lamentably , Google does n’t seem interested in doing that , instead offering upChat(which is based on the RCS Universal Profile ) as a better alternative . But for all its hope , Chat and RCS still has n’t full deliver , which makes the death of Allo seem even more tragic .
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