It’s been a long time since Google last updated its messaging apps, and we almost thought the search giant was finally done tinkering with its messaging apps and services. Well, it’s not like that.
Today, the company announced that it is merging Meet with Duo. So far, the former has been aimed primarily at business users, while the latter has been designed as a video messaging app for everyone to rival Apple’s FaceTime.
Starting in the coming weeks, Google will add all the Meet features to the Duo app. After that, “later this year”, the Duo app will be renamed Google Meet, and at this point Meet will be the company’s only video communications service.
At least until Google changes its mind again. And this is Google, and the topic is messaging apps, it’s pretty much expected to happen. The constant launch, procrastination, restart, branding, re-shelfing, resurrection and merging of its various messaging applications has become so well known over the years that it is practically a meme at the moment.
Anyway, back to the current merger – Duo will keep all its existing video calling features even under the new name, and if you’re a Duo user, your chat, contact and messaging history is safe, as there will be no other download application. One day you will just wake up and find that the Duo has a new name: Meet and all the extra features in addition to what you’re used to.
These new features include a customized virtual background for calls and meetings, meeting scheduling, chat during a meeting, live content sharing, closed captions in real time, video calls with up to 100 participants, “enhanced video and audio noise-canceling experiences” and integration with other Google tools such as Gmail, Calendar, Assistant, and Messaging.
If you use Duo or Meet for free today, you won’t have to pay anything for the “new experience”. If you are currently using the Meet application, after the Duo is renamed Meet, you will be offered the option to install this application when you open the old Meet application. Until then, the original Meet app will continue to run, and Meet in Gmail will not be affected by app scams at all.
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