In addition, Google may have wanted to shy away from implementing some sort of Gmail contact system in Duo but instead solely focus on phone to phone communications without the intermediary of Gmail. Such wasted space should be avoided, especially in mobile apps where space is at an absolute premium. Also, if users choose to just make a phone call, the video gets replaced with a pulsing phone icon, which really serves no purpose but to simply fill the place that was taken by the video. Although I do see the merits of that argument, this change from other popular apps came at the cost of usability and efficiency, which in my mind should never have happened. By placing the video screen where it is, I think that the designers wanted allow users to be able to ‘check themselves out,’ to make sure that they looked up to par before proceeding with the video call. I think the Google designers chose the split screen approach is because they were trying too hard to tap into their users. Since they are not, however, some brand confusion is bound to occur. For example, if I had Bob on my gmail, I would most likely expect Bob to be in my Duo contacts, since i automatically assume that these Google products are connected in some intuitive way.
Google Duo is based on individuals adding by phone number, and in my opinion made the critical mistake of not tapping into the existing behemoth that is Gmail in order to manage contacts.
If you wish to make a call to someone who is not on your most recents, you must swipe up to see a full contact list, with a convenient search bar placed for a quick search.Īnother major issue with Duo is that it is completely isolated from the more well known Google Hangouts. While this could be convenient for quick calls, the fact that some of these choices are cut off just adds to my confusion. On the bottom, you can see that you are presented with a few choices as ‘defaults,’ who are your last contacted people. This already confuses me, as many if not all other apps of this type tend to allow for contact selection first before transitioning to the calling screen. The landing screen of the app is split about 60% video, and 40% contact list. The default screen of the app, with weird people bubbles and a confusing 60% video screen