It’s not full-featured SMS support, but the new file sharing features could help tide over Allo users for a little while longer.
Allo users, I know you’re feeling it — any time Google announces a new feature for the nascent chat app, you’re jumping around, hoping it’s that one feature you’ve been waiting for a while now.
Unfortunately, today is not that day. There is still no word about the oft-requested SMS integration making its way to Allo, but at least now you can attach documents to your messages. With the latest update, Allo chatters can now send PDFs, Microsoft Word files, compressed files, audio files, and even Android APKs. You can use this feature by tapping the paperclip icon in the menu screen above the message input window. This will launch your device’s file explorer.
Google announced in the same blogpost that Brazilian users will also get the Smart Smiley feature in Portuguese, which uses machine learning to pick the most relevant emojis and stickers.
The update will be rolling out to your Android device this week.