Some tech companies just don't get the concept of what a desktop app is and how with the Cloud, apps on mobile, the web, desktop can all work together. At least Facebook's WhatsApp and Google still don't get it. The latter just brought its Allo messaging app to the desktop via the Chrome browser. Don't try with Microsoft Edge, it won't work and Google will invite you to download Chrome - no surprises here. If you've used WhatsApp desktop before, the concept is the same and just head to Allo website and scan the QR code to get started. Otherwise keep reading on.
After you've updated and started Google Allo on your Android device, launch Chrome on your computer and go to g.co/alloforweb. The site will display a QR code. Open Allo on your phone and tap the three horizontal bars - also known as hamburger menu - at the top left hand of the app and tap "Allo for web" > Scan QR Code. From there just point your phone to the QR code on your computer screen and Chrome will load all your Allo messages. Put your phone away and start messaging your contacts. A little hiccup though: Your phone must remain online for Allo Desktop to work. Otherwise you get a message in your browser that your phone is unreachable.
That's it. Google Allo now works on your desktop. It's not perfect and I can't believe it took Google so long to come up with this.
Download Google Allo in the Play Store.
Pushbullet is a nifty app that lets you reply to messages on your computer and it supports popular messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Kik etc. Today Pushbullet was updated with support for Google Allo. Users will be able to quick-reply to messages from their PCs.For that to work though, users must have the latest version of Allo, version 2.0, on their devices. Google has updated Allo on October 26th and it hasn't shown up on my devices yet. The quick reply feature means that you will only be able to reply with text, thus missing out the library of emojis and other features Allo has to offer in the app.
You can download the update for Pushbullet from Google Play Store even if you do not have Allo 2.0 yet.
