Google Duo 5.0 Update Brings 'Major' Video Quality Improvements and Simpler Signup Flow

Google launched its simplistic video-calling app Duo in August earlier this year. Even though the app has been downloaded more than 10 million times from the Google Play since its launch, it has failed to gain the kind of traction that can be termed substantial compared to other video-calling apps. In what appears to be a bid to attract more users, Google claims to have improved the video quality on the app with its v5.0 update for Android and iPhone.

The Google Duo 5.0 update has started rolling out and brings along major improvements to the video quality on the app, as per a tweet by Google Duo's Technical Lead Justin Uberti. "We're putting massive energy behind Duo media quality. Developing and improving algorithms takes time, but lots of stuff in the pipeline," Justin said in another tweet.

As per the release notes posted by Uberti, the update further brings along a simpler signup flow, seamless camera rotation, and an issue where sound was not being played. Uberti said that the user testing with the update has shown great results. In order to further solidify his claim, Uberti posted a graph to showcase the positive trend in user experience with the app, as per a report by Android Police.

The Google Duo 5.0 update is already available on App Store and will be made available on Google Play shortly.

It will be interesting to see if the improvement in video quality is able to lure more people into using Google Duo or it will have to come up with more unique features to leave its mark.