Google rolls out multi-device support for video chat app Duo 

Duo, search giant Google’s video and voice-calling app, is now getting an update that will let users operate a single account on multiple devices.

Google is yet to make an official announcement, but multiple media reports indicate that multi-device support is already being rolled out smartphones and tablets. 

The Google account connected to the Duo app will have to be linked with a phone number. Calls can then be received on all the devices where Duo is signed in, including ones without a cellular connection.

This is akin to Apple devices, where calls received on an iPhone can also be received on a linked MacBook.

Chats and personal information will be separately be saved on the cloud, while there is also an option to sign out of one device at a time.

According to the reports, only a handful of users have received this update so far and a wider rollout is expected soon.

A report by XDA Developers also states that the updated app will have a special interface for tablets. At the moment, iPad users wanting to install Duo have to use the app meant for the iPhone, which means the landscape on offer is much smaller.

But the tablet-centric interface will reportedly display the video window almost on the entire screen - with the right side featuring the video call and voice call tabs and the unified contacts search bar, the report said.

There is no official update for Duo on Google Play Store as yet. The last update from Google Duo was a video messaging feature that would let users capture and share video messages when their friends cannot answer their call. 

The new development represents another effort by Google to improve its video chat offering as it seeks to compete with Skype, WhatsApp, Apple’s FaceTime and Facebook Messenger.

Google has not been particularly successful with its chat apps strategy, with Duo and messaging app Allo not quite taking off.

Last month, Google started rolling out desktop browser support for default messaging app Android Messages - a feature already offered by most of its rivals.