Google Duo will replace Hangouts as a mandatory preinstalled app on Android phones

07 October 2016
Android itself may be open source and ready for any mobile device maker to use, but the Google apps are a whole different story. If you want the Play Store on the phones you make, then you need to play ball with Google - and, among other things, agree to preinstall a certain list of apps. This changes from time to time, and come December 1 it will change once more.

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  • Anonymous
  • 5Jj
  • 02 Mar 2017

AnonD-569198, 09 Oct 2016What is it with these men with their wispy Pee Wee Herman h... moreFreakin hipsters

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    • AnonD-312515
    • Y7u
    • 10 Oct 2016

    Anonymous, 08 Oct 2016Agreed. People usually think it is carriers who install blo... moreIt's their OS they can do whatever they want, just like Microsoft.

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      • AnonD-312515
      • Y7u
      • 10 Oct 2016

      Arif238, 08 Oct 2016Hangout is fine messaging app from Google. it is simple and... morePrecisely! Allo and Duo is like Googles answer to a problem that didn't exist. Hangouts was and still is a great communications app even though they separated first-party messages, Google Voice texts and SMS because they believed it confuses the average user, I mean come on Google seriously!?

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        • AnonD-569198
        • YdR
        • 09 Oct 2016

        What is it with these men with their wispy Pee Wee Herman hair that Google uses for marketing? Could he dig a ditch for 10 minutes without bursting out in tears?

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • Tr3
          • 09 Oct 2016

          Will Allo become the default chat app on Android devices? Snowden has warned users not to install it.

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            • Anonymous
            • nE2
            • 08 Oct 2016

            krystian, 08 Oct 2016What if Samsung wants to make their own competitor to duo a... moreActually Chaton was the best of every world for Samsung users. Video calls, voice calls, im, photo/file/ location sharing, emoticons,
            cross platform, on millions of phones wordwide, and you were still using Samsung system that you had signed up to anyway . Couldn't fail could it, well, corporations with billions $'s, didn't want countless millions of people sharing there private friend/family, interactions outside of their surveillance, so, they industrialy bombarded every thread and feedback column with hundreds of negative posts and an inescapable false aura of poisoned or irrelavant comment attended it.Experience bears this out, we never met one single person who didn't like it, not one. We must suppose apple, face,whatsa, ans c i a, could not possibly want 10's of millions escapinf from under their grasp either..
            We would dump em all for a return of Chaton in an instant, it left nothing else to be desired.

              dude1, 08 Oct 2016not exactly a bad thing is it? ios users dont complain that... moreMy daily driver is an adroid phone for last 6 years. But please, don't compare Apple Facetime with this new 'Duo'. Apple ecosystem is 1000 times better and stable. They don't change their mind every now and then like Google does! F***, we don't even have a good, standard messenger for all android!!! Makes me so MAD! Why can't they just fix 'Hangouts' and make an all-in-one app!!!

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                • Anonymous
                • nE2
                • 08 Oct 2016

                Anonymous, 08 Oct 2016Not like iOS users will use this crap anyway.Nope they are already using there own severely limited c i a spyware version crap.

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                  • Anonymous
                  • wHR
                  • 08 Oct 2016

                  Still prefer other social app but this comes with Google assistance but is it only for pixel devices or all Android?

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                    • AnonD-266419
                    • vG1
                    • 08 Oct 2016

                    So..One more "battery draining and always running in background" app has just added by Google..:\..!!

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                      • dude1
                      • 3DR
                      • 08 Oct 2016

                      not exactly a bad thing is it? ios users dont complain that facetime is pre intalled do they? grow up

                        krystian, 08 Oct 2016What if Samsung wants to make their own competitor to duo a... moreit means more bloatware for samsung users

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                          • Mkdc
                          • 5Mb
                          • 08 Oct 2016

                          krystian, 08 Oct 2016What if Samsung wants to make their own competitor to duo a... moreYes that's why you see many dual apps on samsung smartphones

                            Hangout is fine messaging app from Google. it is simple and provide all the functionality to the user at one place, I don't understand, why the heck Google feels it to replace it with another apps, just update the hangout app with other functionality you wanted Google like assistant and all, it will work like charm.

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                              • AnonD-315435
                              • uu8
                              • 08 Oct 2016

                              the search giant's strategy of making this a business communications platform of sorts - and not a consumer-oriented product.
                              This is why I won't believe Android and g💵💵 . Its full of money minded.
                              I myself will decide which app to install.

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • U6Z
                                • 08 Oct 2016

                                AnonD-135543, 08 Oct 2016One bloatware gone, another in its foot already Agreed. People usually think it is carriers who install bloatwares but actually google make OEMs install more bloatware than any carriers. No wonder they got sued in EU.

                                I think Google should stop with this stupidity already and start putting resources in something better. They already sacked Project Ara, imagine all these resources going into Project Ara. might have worked.

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                                  • AnonD-558092
                                  • 6Eb
                                  • 08 Oct 2016

                                  krystian, 08 Oct 2016What if Samsung wants to make their own competitor to duo a... moreYup! Didn't you realized that when there was Hangouts and ChatOn on your older Galaxy devices?

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                                    • Anonymous
                                    • U6Z
                                    • 08 Oct 2016

                                    ZXcorr, 08 Oct 2016Android needs a better default texting app that works with ... moreNot like iOS users will use this crap anyway.

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                                      • AnonD-135543
                                      • D0c
                                      • 08 Oct 2016

                                      One bloatware gone, another in its foot already

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                                        • AndroidTech
                                        • UD{
                                        • 08 Oct 2016

                                        another bloat