Duo is Google's FaceTime: see it in action here

This week the folks at Google have launched a true competitor to Apple's FaceTime and iMessage for iPhone. They've shown off the app called Allo – that's for chat, a straight-up battle-ready app to take on iMessage – it'll be on Android and iOS, as well. Then there's Duo, a video chat app that'll battle FaceTime. That'll be released on Android and iOS as well, too. It's made by the people who developed WebRTC and is built with QUIC.

This video calling app is reliable – so says Google. We'll see about that when it launches very, very soon. This app, they suggest, is based on your phone number and has a connection that fades to lower quality only when your internet bandwidth is low – simple and smooth.

KnockKnock is a feature for Duo. It allows the person being called to see live video of the person doing the calling before they answer.

Have a peek at the demo video for this software below:

Stick around SlashGear to see more of Duo and Allo – both of which will be released in the very near future for both Android and iOS for iPhone.

UPDATE: Google suggests that both Duo and Allo will be launched "This Summer." That means within the next several months. We'll likely see demo versions – BETA releases – sooner than later for Android and/or iOS. Stay tuned!