Google may be having a hard time getting enough users to switch over from their messaging app of choice, but that isn't stopping the Mountain View company from continuing to add new features to its Google Assistant-powered chat app Allo. Today, they are announcing an update to Allo that brings in contextual emoji and sticker suggestions, a brand new Fantastic Beasts sticker pack, and new chat themes.
Join us after the break for the details.
As popular as emojis may seem, according to Google we only regularly use around 3% of what's available. Combine that with the large amount of original stickers that Allo has and you have quite a number of ways to express yourself other than simple text. This may seem overwhelming to some, especially given how many different emoji or stickers there are, and Google is here to help.
Smart Smiley is a new feature that, when the user taps the icon next to the send icon, will analyze what the user has typed and suggest relevant emojis and stickers that can be added to the message. The example above for “Let's get some food” suggests, as expected, a variety of food related visuals. And you don't need to have already typed up a message as Smart Smiley can analyze the conversation itself to provide a relevant emoji or sticker-based reply. This will certainly come in handy as scrolling through all the emoji pages to find the right one can often be a chore (and probably a big reason why most people tend to stick with their 3% of choice).
For those fans of the upcoming movie “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” will be pleased to see a new sticker pack will be included in the update. So there you go! As part of that addition, Google is also making it easier for users to discover new sticker packs. When someone you're chatting with sends a sticker from a pack you don't yet have, tapping on that sticker will allow you to download the pack to your own device.
Last but not least, Google Allo will now support chat themes. As you can see in the scrolling GIF above, there will be plenty of options to choose from. Themes has been one of the most requested features from users so it's nice to see this coming in with the update. There's still no way to manually customize the appearance of chats, but this is certainly a nice start.
The update for Google Allo is rolling out to users starting today, but as always, it may take several days for you to see it on your actual smartphone. In the meantime, what do you think of these changes? And if you don't already have Allo you can get it at the link below.
Play Store Download Link
Source: Google
