In the summer of last year, there were reports in the airwaves that Google was going to replace the Duo app with the Meet app. That process has now begun, with Google announcing that it will add all of the latter's features to the former in the coming weeks, and that Duo will be rebranded as Meet later this year.
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In the middle of the last decade, if you had asked a user of Google's free services how to make a video call to someone, their answer would have been Hangouts. In 2016, the company introduced a more narrowly focused "app" Google Duo, which gained popularity around the world. A year later, it launched the Google Meet application, which combined the functionality of the Hangouts and Google Chat applications.
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Now, Google has decided to make the Meet app "one connected solution". In the coming weeks, it will release an update for Duo that will bring all the features from Meet. These features include, but are not limited to:
- Customize the virtual background in calls and meetings
- Schedule meetings so everyone can join at a time that suits them
- Share live content to enable interaction with all call participants
- Get real-time closed captioning for ease of access and increased participation
- Increase the maximum number of call participants from 32 to 100
- Integration with other tools including Gmail, Google Assistant, Messages, Google Calendar, etc.
Google adds in one breath that the existing video call functions from the Duo application will not disappear anywhere. So it will still be possible to make calls to friends and family using a phone number or email address. In addition, he emphasized that users will not need to download a new application, since all conversation history, contacts and messages will remain saved.
Duo will be rebranded as Google Meet later this year. This will result in "the only video communication service across Google that's free for everyone."
