How Google’s Duo is ‘knock knocking’ at the door of the video calling market

Google’s challenge to FaceTime with its launch of Duo, is set to rock the foundations of the video calling market when it launches today. Overnight it will become the nemesis to Facebook Messenger, Skype and Snapchat among others, with its attempts to topple the dominate players with its fuss-free claims of being devoid of complicated bells and whistles.

Interestingly, Google is set to leave this app as a stand-alone feature without the ability to connect to other Google perks such as Google hangouts etc. But it is plain to see that the odds are stacked against the success of Duo, with it coming late to the party. After a number of false starts and failed attempts, Google has some significant ground to make up if it wants to truly take on the likes of Facetime.

Although with all of its differentiators, its ‘mobile first’ approach and it’s ‘Knock Knock’ feature that is genuinely new, could this rock the video calling market? Will Google’s Duo stand the test of time in a very crowded market place where it is forced to compete on its own merits? From a telecoms perspective, what are the implications for the industry? Are we set to expect changes in the video calling market?