Updates to ‘s Duo, lo, otos apps bring small but important features

BY GreenBot Staff

Published 23 Mar 2017

came packed with a bunch of announcements at its for Brazil event, but you don’t need to live in Rio de neiro to benefit from them. In addition to the new location sharing in Maps, is also rolling out updates to its Duo, lo, otos apps, bringing some long-awaited features.

First up is Duo. ile the focus of the app had been on video chatting, will now let you make audio calls too. According to , “Duo audio calls work well on all connection speeds won’t eat up your data.”

so getting an anticipated new feature is lo, one of its many chat apps. For the first time, users will be able to share documents other files (.pdf, .docs, .apk, .zip, mp3) inside conversations. And for users in Brazil, is adding a Smart Smiley in rtuguese, which “uses machine learning to help you find the right emoji faster. Tap the Smart Smiley icon on the compose bar, the app will suggest relevant emojis stickers to help you finish your thought.”

And there’s new stuff for otos too. In the Android app your photos will now back up automatically in a “lightweight preview quality” so you won’t have to manually upload photos when you’re not on -Fi. Then, when a strong connection returns, they will be replaced with high-quality versions. However, says the lesser quality images will “still look great on a smartphone.”

In addition to backups, is also making it easier for both iOS Android users to share photos when your connection is spotty. en you try to send a batch of photos with only one bar, will send them in low resolution so they’re sure to go through. Then, like the backups, the images will update in higher resolution when a strong connection returns.

The updates will all be rolling out to both the Android iOS versions of the apps this week.

y this matters: ile none of the updates here are particularly revolutionary, it’s great to see adding important features to its core apps. otos just keeps getting better better, but if it wants lo Duo to be the default messaging calling apps on Android one day, they will need basic features like these first. So keep ‘em coming, .