Google Allo for Web is Finally Here

Google finally took the wraps off Allo for web today, and as you can see from the screenshot below, it can be accessed via https://allo.google.com/web (but only for Android/Google Chrome users, as the web client needs to be paired with the mobile device). Allo is Google's latest instant messaging effort after Hangouts was repurposed and shunted aside for business communication, although the exact date when the switch will happen still remains unclear. Google also has a dedicated Messages app for Android with native RCS integration that allows it to mimic a lot of features that we see in most instant messaging apps today. For now, though, the strategy is muddled at best, with Allo lacking multi-device support and SMS integration (a feature it removed from Hangouts back in May), making it a pale imitation of Apple's iMessage.

In other messaging-related news, YouTube also gained support for in-app video sharing and messaging, in what's probably a salvo against Facebook and other messaging apps in an attempt to shift the conversation around YouTube videos back to the app itself. Will that happen? We'll have to wait and watch.