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Well, it looks like the wait was even shorter than we speculated. I have been impatiently sitting at my desk hitting the refresh button on the Allo for web URL and just a few minutes ago I was greeted with the image above.
In case you missed Robby’s article, just a couple of hours ago he reported on the update to the Allo app for mobile that added the Allo for Web icon and the QR code reader.
You can try it out for yourself by heading to allo.google.com/web. If you haven’t already, you will need to download the Allo app for your Android or iOS device. Once you’ve done those two things, simply head to the settings in your mobile app, hit Allo for Web to access the QR scanner or alternatively click QR scanner in the settings menu.
On your desktop, navigate to the Allo for Web URL from above and scan the QR code with your phone. That’s it. You are now linked to your computer and synced with all the conversations on your device.
Features
So far, it looks as though Allo for Web brings most of the mobile app features to the table. If you set your browser to “open as window” it looks and feels much like the mobile version. You will also find the same stickers and emojis available in the mobile version.
Assistant
You may have already caught it in the image above but yes, you can interact with the Google Assistant via the web platform. That makes this the first web-based environment for Google’s smart-helper. You can type @google in a chat or start a chat directly with the Assistant just as you would on your phone.
GIFs
Unfortunately, .gif support is part of the GBoard keyboard and is currently still not working on Android-enabled Chromebooks. If they don’t bake this into the web version I’m not sure if it will actually ever be a thing. Additionally, the Duo app button has been removed from Allo for Web as it is tied to your mobile device much like Allo was.
Keyboard shortcuts
Pretty self-explanatory, there are a handful of helpful keyboard shortcuts if you chose to use them.
Chrome Only
Yup, you read that right. Allo for Web is available for the Chrome browser only. According to the support page, that is by design. Just to be thorough, we checked it out for ourselves. Heading there on Safari will get you this:
Sorry, not sorry.
Whether or not this will change in the future remains to be seen. For now, you will have to download Chrome to use Allo on the web. It’s okay, you’ll like it.
Power Tip
Robby, being the “open as window” king that he is, immediately set Allo to do so and pinned it to the shelf of his Samsung Chromebook Pro and it looks right at home. Aside from the small number of excluded features, Allo for Web should provide a mobile-esque experience right in your browser.
