Soon Google Meet and Duo will become one app for video calling
Google announced in a blog post, that its Duo app will soon merge into the Google Meet. Reports stated it has been working on it since 2020, and it is now official. Now, Google Meet is the company’s answer to the Zoom app. It lets G-Suite as well as personal Gmail users set up and host their video calls.

Google said it will bring “its Meet features to the Duo app, so users can easily schedule a video meeting at a time that works for everyone, or continue using video calling to instantly connect with a person or group.” Later in the year, the Google Duo app will be renamed Google Meet, and thus Google will have one “single video communications service” for everyone at no cost.

In short, Google Duo was the video-calling app announced in 2016, along with Allo. this messaging app is designed to take on WhatsApp. The Duo app was available on Android and iOS. It was more of a video calling app designed to compete with FaceTime. While Allo was shut down in 2018, Duo had managed to survive so far, despite Google Meet getting more focus. But it looks like this will join the long list of Google’s failed apps/projects.

On the other hand, The good news for Google Duo users is that they don’t have to download a new app. According to the blog, one simply needs to ensure they have the latest version of Duo on their device, which will be updated to Google Meet once the changes start rolling out. The post also adds that the changes will impact admins for G Suite accounts and end-users.

Google will also add some new features to the Duo mobile app starting this month. These include options that will provide users to customize virtual backgrounds in calls and meetings, schedule meetings, in-meeting chats, and live sharing of content similar to Google Meet. Google also plans to add “real-time closed captions to better support accessibility” and will increase the participant limit from 32 to 100 for Duo. The blog adds, that Google Duo will also “integrate with other tools, including Gmail, Google Calendar, Assistant, Messages, and more,”.

Furthermore, IT admins who manage G-suite accounts for business users can manage Duo video calling access by “features by turning off the Additional Google services control.” This applies only to Duo video calling features, but will not impact Meet functionality. Except for those admins who are handling school accounts, Duo remains restricted for anyone under 18 and no settings need to change. However, the post points out that “if you have the Additional Google services control enabled, users over 18 will continue to have access to Duo calling features.”

Simultaneously, Regular users just need to make sure they have the latest version of Duo to avail all the latest features. The changes will come to all Google Workspace customers, legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers, and all users with personal Google Accounts.