GOOG Alphabet Inc

By Nathan Olivarez-Giles 

There is no shortage of messaging apps jam-packed with features to help you stay in touch with friends. Alphabet Inc.'s Google has a new app, called Duo, that is going in the other direction and focusing on just one thing: video chat. Is it enough to get you to switch?

That depends on whether you chat often enough through video, and whether you prize simplicity. If the answers to both are yes, Duo is worth a look.

Duo, which is available for iOS and Android, has a single purpose: one-on-one phone video chats. There are no video filters, no group chats, no texting and no GIFs. Duo's interface and setup are as bare bones as the app's purpose. You sign up with just a phone number. On the main screen, there is one option. Tap "video call" to scroll or search your contact list for someone to call. That's it.

On the most important issue -- video quality -- Duo performed in line with other chat apps I've used. The visuals were sharp over Wi-Fi and blurry over most cellular connections. Google says Duo can switch to an audio-only feed if video quality deteriorates too much, though I never ran into that scenario. Duo's calls are encrypted end-to-end, as with some other apps.

Duo has one feature called "knock knock" that sets the app apart from its competitors. If someone calls you using Duo, a notification shows you a video preview of the caller before you pick up. Seeing a video stream of your friend waiting for you to pick up is fun, but it wasn't a compelling enough feature for me to try to convince dozens of people I care about to download another app.

It is likely your family and friends already use one of the apps already out there for video calls, such as Apple Inc.'s FaceTime, Microsoft Corp.'s Skype, Facebook Inc.'s Messenger, Snapchat Inc.'s namesake app or Google's own Hangouts. Many people use a combination -- an iOS user, for example, might FaceTime with other iPhone owners but use Hangouts to talk to Android phone-using friends.

Duo likely won't keep you from juggling multiple apps, either. Being freed of the myriad features packed into other messaging apps was refreshing for a time -- when I wanted to make a video call. Without text messaging and group chats, though, Duo just isn't as useful as its rivals that offer that combination. Google is expected to introduce a "smarter" text-messaging app this summer called Allo for iOS and Android, which together with Duo pretty much make up Hangouts. Google has done this before, breaking up its Drive cloud-storage service into separate apps including Docs and Sheets, for example.

It doesn't help that Duo can only be used on phones. I use a tablet daily, and I have laptops for work and personal use. If I want to video chat with a colleague at work or a friend while lounging on my couch with my tablet, Duo isn't an option. Even if I wanted to convert to Duo exclusively, I'd need to keep around Hangouts and FaceTime (or both).

If you absolutely desire a stripped-down video-chat app, and think you can convince others to download one more messaging app, Duo is good enough for a look. Just don't expect it to replace your other messaging apps.

Write to Nathan Olivarez-Giles at Nathan.Olivarez-giles@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 16, 2016 00:15 ET (04:15 GMT)

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