Google has begun merging its Meet and Duo video-chat apps into what the company calls a “single video communication service.”
Starting this week, Duo is getting an upgrade to include video calling and meeting capabilities. Once fully rolled out later this year, the app’s name and icon will also change to “Google Meet,” with a camera in Google’s familiar colors.
“We are doing this carefully, first adding Google Meet features to the Duo app, and now rebranding Duo to Meet,” a company spokesperson told PCMag. “And by the end of the year, [we’ll] It’s all in one web and mobile experience under Google Meet.”
Confusingly, the current Google Meet has been sticking around for a while—now with a differently colored logo to help differentiate “Google Meet” from “Google Meet (original)”, followed by One will be put to pasture one day, (with (opens in a new window) Labs, Wave, Reader, and, soon, Hangouts).
Color schemes for Google Meet, Google Meet (native), and Google Duo(Credit: Google)
If you’re annoyed by the changes (and, frankly, we’re all small), Google has some help about the change in Duo (opens in a new window) and its effect on various app icons (opens in). Articles issued. a new window).
One-to-one video calling app Duo was launched in August 2016 as a FaceTime alternative for iOS and Android mobile users. Based on your existing phone number, it taps into your contact list and automatically adjusts the call quality to changing network conditions—switching between Wi-Fi and cellular data without leaving a conversation.
Google formally launched Meet, formerly known as Hangouts Meet, in March 2017, but the enterprise-friendly, video-conferencing service really took off in April 2020, when the platform became free for all. (Opens in a new window) During the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Over the years, Google has scaled up programs, introducing features such as virtual effects, live captions, and noise cancellation. Now it’s combining them all (and more) into one app.
“Duo’s existing video calling features are here, including making video calls to friends and family with a phone number or email address, using fun filters and effects, sending messages, and asking Google Assistant to make calls using existing devices.” capability,” according to a June blog announcement(opens in a new window). “All conversation history, contacts and messages will continue to be saved in the app and there will be no new apps to download.”
Users can also expect advanced functions such as custom backgrounds, meeting scheduling, in-house chat, integration with other Google tools, and the ability to invite up to 100 participants.
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