Google Streamlines Messaging App By Merging Duo And Meet

JAKARTA - Google often has turmoil with its messaging apps, and one of the steps taken to help minimize the number of apps it has is to incorporate Google Meet into the Google Duo app.

With a more private video chat system, Google Duo will merge with the more professional Google Meet video system and they will be called by one name, Google Meet.

The company said in its announcement that Google Duo users do not need to take any action as long as they install the latest version of the app.

The transition is expected to begin in the coming weeks with the Google Meet feature being added to the Google Duo app and completed by the end of this year at the latest.

Once done, the Google Duo app will include features from both communication systems. Some of the first Google Meet features to come to Google Duo such as a dedicated virtual background for video communication, meeting scheduling, chat rooms in meetings.

There's also direct sharing of in-call content, real-time closed captioning, video call limit increased from 32 to 100 participants, Google tools integration with Gmail, Google Calendar, Assistant, Messages, and more.

This is a pretty big change for the app, claimed to be an attempt to make the service more efficient for users, who just want to video chat with friends and hold meetings.

Google Meet is available to everyone in 2020 and is a worthy competitor to the likes of Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

"What's really important is understanding how people make choices about what tools they will use, for what purposes, in what situations," Google Workspace head Javier Soltero told The Verge.

According to 9to5Google, Google Duo alone has 5 billion Android downloads, compared to Google Meet, which has more than 100 million downloads. However, it seems clear that merging the two apps is just a numbers game, not erasing Google Duo altogether.