[Update: Rolling out in US, Canada, and India] Group video calling in Google Duo starts going live in Indonesia

Update (5/8/19 @ 1:20 PM ET): Group video calling in Google Duo is now rolling out in the US, Canada, and India.

Google was at the disadvantage of being late when it launched Allo and Duo to compete against the much older existing heavyweights. As a result, Google Allo, the online messaging service collapsed under the pressure of giants like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram, but Google Duo has sustained the pressure for delivering video calling as its primary feature – an experience similar to Apple’s Facetime. To make up to its competitors, Duo has been added with additional features like audio calling, 30-second-long video messages, support for web browsers and tablets. Meanwhile, another new functionality making its way to the app is Group video calling, which was spotted late last year and is now live in select regions.

Di bulan Ramadan nanti mau video call lancar rame – rame sama teman dan keluarga?

Good news!! #GoogleDUO sekarang bisa group call sampai dengan 4 orang loh. Yuk, cobain langsung Google DUO di Android kamu! pic.twitter.com/Yo7nQg6FdX

— Google Indonesia (@Google_IDN) April 24, 2019

Google Indonesia tweeted out the good news that Duo will now support group video calling in the preparation of the upcoming month of Ramadan but we’re yet to come across any report of the new feature being available in any other country. For now, Duo allows a maximum of four participants just like WhatsApp, which is decent for a start, if not as good as Facebook Messenger or Facetime.

From the teaser shared by Google, it looks like users can only add members before the call and not during it. There’s a dedicated button for ending calls and another for creating new groups, but we’re not sure if creating a new group will cut the existing call or just put it on hold – even though former is more likely.

We’ll be obliged to inform you once we spot the Duo’s group video calling in other regions of the world. Earlier previews of the features suggested the upcoming functionality will allow users to group to seven people and even save these groups. Meanwhile, we can also expect audio-based conference calling will also be supported but similar functionality via Google Home devices might take a little longer.

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Update: Rolling out in US, Canada, and India

Google Duo group calling was originally only available in Indonesia. The rollout has been very slow, but we’re finally getting it in more countries. It’s now available in the US, Canada, and India. Simply swipe down to create a group, which can be up to 3 other people. The number of people that can be in a group call should be increasing soon.

Source: 9to5Google

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