Google Duo to officially gain low light mode this week on Android and iOS

For the past few months, our APK Insight team has been on the trail of low light mode for Google Duo, as it’s been in development since at least last year. Now Google is making things official by launching it on both Android and iOS this week.

Video calling apps like Google Duo have made it more possible than ever to keep friends and family connected over long distances. However, video calls can be especially frustrating if you’re not able to see each other properly due to poor lighting.

This was especially a problem for Google’s “Next Billion Users,” who may not necessarily have access to better lighting or simply need to conserve electricity. Whatever your reason for being in the dark, Google may have finally solved this issue with the launch of low light mode in Google Duo this week.

According to the announcement post, when low light mode is active, Duo will attempt to detect people in poor lighting and make adjustments accordingly. Google shared a short demo of how Duo’s low light mode should work, though the effect will surely vary depending on your phone camera’s capabilities and exactly how little lighting you have available.

Given Google’s recent prowess with making dark scenes clearly visible with Night Sight on the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3a, it’s very possible that Google Duo’s low light mode may be able to offer impressive results, under the right conditions.

The feature will be launching on both Android and iOS later this week, though no mention was made of it ever launching for Duo’s web client or smart displays. As the latest sign of low light mode for Google Duo was spotted in version 60 earlier this month, it’s possible Google may enable the feature via a server-side change rather than another update to the app.