Google’s messaging app Allo, along with its built-in virtual assistant, is coming to desktop. Until now there were no signs of Allo being anything more than a mobile app — but now we know it will soon be making an appearance on the big screen, so to speak.
Nick Fox, Google’s VP of Communications Products at Google, broke the news on Twitter that an Allo desktop client is currently in “early development”. Fox also shared a screenshot, which you can see below:
Still in early development, but coming to a desktop near you… #GoogleAllo #SneakPeek pic.twitter.com/f7QNFH7IHO
— Nick Fox (@RealNickFox) February 24, 2017
There are only a couple of things we can learn from the early build of Google Allo on desktop at this point. It appears to be a Chrome app and not one that’s built specifically for either Windows or Desktop. It supports Google Assistant both in chats with friends and in direct chats with the bot itself.
Other than that there’s not much to be known about the desktop client at this point, not even a launch window. What has been known for some time is that Allo mobile app has struggled to catch on with the masses.
Apparently Google has become wise to the fact that successful chat apps need to be available on multiple devices. This is true for Facebook Messenger, Apple’s iMessage, Skype, Slack, and virtually every other messaging app people use in their day to day lives.
However, at this point we don’t even know if it will be available on multiple devices. Allo could still be tied to one device at a time — we’ll have to wait until it gets closer to launch to learn more.
