GOOGLE DUO CHALLENGES FACETIME

Google and Apple dominate the mobile world. Now the issue for those companies is how to get people to switch from Apple’s mobile ecosystem to Google’s or vice versa.

For Google, the strategy has been to release mobile apps that are more flexible than Apple’s because they can be used on more devices, writes Brian X. Chen. Google Photos, Google Docs and others can all be used across Macs, Windows PCs, iPhones and others, while Apple apps typically can only be used on Apple devices.

Google cemented its method on Tuesday with the release of Google Duo, a new video-calling app. Unlike Apple’s FaceTime app, which can only be used to call people with Apple gadgets, Duo can be used to place video calls between Android and Apple phones. That increases the universe of people that consumers can call with Duo.