Back in February Google teased a screenshot of what appeared to be an upcoming desktop chat client for its Allo messenger app. Given that we can’t tend to our phones all the time, having a desktop client means that you’ll be able to reply messages and check on messages without having to switch back and forth between your computer and phone.
It follows in the footsteps of WhatsApp who launched their own desktop app back in 2016. Details of Allo’s desktop client are scarce as all we got was a teaser, but the folks at 9to5Google have managed to uncover some additional information, such as how it would pair a phone with the chat client.
As you can see in the screenshots above taken from the Allo smartphone app, users will be able to choose between scanning a QR code or entering a text code. This would basically verify the phone that the user is using and pair it with the chat client. This is also similar to what WhatsApp has done with its own chat client.
At the moment it is unclear as to when the chat client will be released, but hopefully it won’t be too long, and maybe we’ll have those details come Google I/O 2017 which will take place in May.