What you need to know
- Google has announced that it is merging its Meet and Duo video calling services.
- Google Duo will soon gain all of Google Meet's features including scheduling, captions, and more.
- Google Duo will still retain its features and be renamed "Google Meet" later this year.
There have been rumors about Google merging its video calling services for some time now, and it looks like the move is now official. The search giant announced via its Workspace blog that it would soon merge Google Duo and Google Meet into a single video calling app.
It shall be called: Google Meet. That's right, as the consumer and workplace-focused apps fought for dominance, the latter won out in the long run. However, it's not all bad.
For one, "Meet" seems like a much stronger name for the combined app than "Duo" as it gets the purpose of the app across much better. And given Google's disjointed history of messaging apps, the merger should help simplify things, at least for video chats.
Google says Duo's current features will remain on the app following the transition. This means you'll continue to make calls to friends and family via the same methods, filters, etc. Existing messages and history will also remain on the app, so you don't have to worry about losing any of those.
This month, Google will merge the two services by bringing Google Meet's features into Duo. This means you'll be able to schedule meetings and integrate with apps like Gmail and Calendar, live share content, chat in-meeting, have access to real-time captions, and more. Meetings will also support up to 100 members.
"As part of our mission to build a connected experience for all users, we're excited to bring our video calling and meeting technologies together into a single, powerful, easy-to-use solution," says Javier Soltero, vice president and general manager of Google Workspace. "Video communications is a major area of focus for us and you'll continue to see our investments in Google Meet to help people to connect, collaborate, and share experiences on any device, at home, at school, and at work."
Google says it wants to make the transition as smooth as possible. Later this year, Duo will be renamed "Google Meet," and current users will not have to download a new app. The upgraded app will be available on Android phones and iOS devices.
