[ad_1]
Google isn’t slowing down by trying to pinch some of the market share Zoom has built up in the video chat market: having added one-click calls to Gmail for its business-focused Google Meet video app, now is rolling out more features for its other video tool, Google Duo, too.
As announced in a Google blog post, Duo is getting a familiar mode that essentially adds a lot of skins and filters to play with children (or grandchildren). The mute and hang buttons are hidden in this mode, presumably to prevent young people from accidentally hitting them.
The same filters and video effects are also being implemented for individual Duo calls on Android and iOS, Google says, in case you want to turn your face into a giant vase or something similar.
Google Duo on the web is also getting some improvements: Browser-based group video calls will apparently be supported in the “coming weeks,” and you’ll be able to join them via an invitation link from your Google account. Sounds a lot like … Zoom.
Updates galore
The maximum number of people you can have on a Duo video call recently increased 12 participants, but as Google has confirmed to Android Police (and has also mentioned in promotional emails), that will soon increase to 32.
It has been interesting to see tech companies scramble to update their video calling software as quickly as possible as more and more of us are trapped at home due to the ongoing effects of the coronavirus outbreak.
HTC has released a VR video chat app, while Skype and Facebook have been rolling out features to match their video call tools to Zoom’s features and interface, the app that has so far seen the most growth in usage.
Even FaceTime follows the example set by Zoom: In the latest iOS beta, you can disable the floating face interface and use a more conventional grid. If you are looking for a video call show, the options are better than ever.
