Google Duo Integrated With Pixel 2’s Dialler App, Could Come to Other Smartphones: Report

Google may have big plans to extend the reach of its video calling service, Google Duo. The company appears to have integrated Duo in the dealer app on the new Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL smartphones, alert users reported.

Looking at the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL smartphones that Google unveiled last week, Android Police noted that there was a dedicated “video call” button that appears when both the caller and respondent have the Duo app installed on their devices. Tapping on the video call button, the report noted, initiates a video call via Duo.

The recently released Phone app doesn’t seem to have this feature as yet, the report notes. The arrival of this feature isn’t necessarily surprising as Google has been hinting about its commitment with Duo for sometime. Recently, it started showing video call history in the dialler’s log, for instance. Separately, Android Police reported that Google was planning a deeper integration to Google’s Phone app, citing references in the strings of code of the app.

Furthermore, a support page that recently went up on Google’s website hinted about how Google and its partner OEMs are planning to bring Duo to the default Phone app. Google noted that users will see the option to make video calls using Duo in three places – Phone app, Contacts app, and Android Messages app.