Google Allo finally offers web chat, but it's only for Android users

Allo, Google's beleaguered chat app that arrived on the iPhone and Android devices last year, finally has a web counterpart. Just a few minutes ago, Amit Fulay (head of product for Allo and video chat app Duo) tweeted that Allo for the web was available, but only for Android phones. To give it a go, you'll need to open the Allo app on your device and use that to scan a QR code you can generate at this link.

Once you've scanned the code, Allo pulls up your chat history and mirrors all the conversations you have on your phone. Most of Allo's key features, including smart replies, emoji, stickers and most importantly the Google Assistant are all intact here. In fact, this is the first time you can really get the full Google Assistant experience through the web; it's been limited to phones and Google Home thus far.

There are a few things that didn't work so well in my quick test. Pictures from earlier in a chat with one of my co-workers failed to translate to the web -- instead, I was told I had to view them on my phone. Allo's little "slider" feature that lets you increase or decrease the size of text in chats is also unavailable, and you can't make your own emoji like you can on Android.

But the good news is that the most important features are all here and conversations sync quickly between multiple devices. That alone is enough to make Allo worth recommending, perhaps for the first time ever. I just couldn't go back to a world where my chats weren't synced across computer and phone, but that's no longer a problem, at least for Android users. Google says that Allo for the web will be available for iPhone users before long.