Google Allo introduces chat themes and can now suggest emojis as you type

Google's Allo messaging service adds 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' stickers

By Julian Chokkattu Updated December 9, 2016

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Google’s relatively new messaging app, Allo, is helping you prepare for the latest films with stickers, the most recent one being Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

It’s one way the search giant is trying to get people to use its new messaging platform. In late October, the company unveiled stickers for Netflix’s Stranger Things. The new Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them stickers became the first movie tie-in with Allo in November, and now, Google’s messaging app is unveiling a new set for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, in theaters on December 16.

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Beginning Friday, exclusive stickers are available in Google Allo, which promise to “help you prepare for the newest ‘Star Wars’ adventure.”

Stickers include characters both old and new, like Stormtroopers, Darth Vader, and the Death Star, as well as Jyn, Cassian, and K-2SO.

Below are some of the stickers Allo unveiled for Fantastic Beasts.

allo-fantastic-beasts — Image used with permission by copyright holder

In Google’s last update, Allo introduced a few fairly incremental new features. Chat themes let you choose a different background for your conversations to suit your style and you can now click on stickers people send to download them.

But Smart Smileys is the big highlight of this update — it displays emojis you could use based on what you’re typing.

“With so many out there, it’s no wonder that most of the time, we only use a handful (less than 3 percent!) of all emojis,” Google writes in its blog post. “That’s why we’ve added a new feature to Google Allo to make it easier to find and send the perfect emoji or sticker.”

You’ll need to tap the Smart Smiley button as you type and the app will suggest contextually relevant emojis. It can also suggest emojis and stickers based on your conversation. The feature is only available in English for now, but more languages will be added over time.

While chat themes and Smart Smiley are welcome additions to Allo, the app still has a lot of ground to cover to catch up to competitors like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.

Story originally published in November 2016. Updated on 12-09-16 by Lulu Chang: Added details regarding ‘Rogue One’ stickers.

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Julian Chokkattu

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Julian is the mobile and wearables editor at Digital Trends, covering smartphones, fitness trackers, smartwatches, and more…

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