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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  • 08 Oct 2016

Android needs a better default texting app that works with both data and SMS. The simplest way I see would be adding SMS support onto Android's Allo. iOS's Allo can stay data-only.

    What if Samsung wants to make their own competitor to duo and they are now forced to also have Duo installed on their phones?