Google Merges Duo With Meet in Latest Update

Google has started rolling out the recently merged Meet and Duo app, after announcing in June that the two video chat software would become “one connected solution”.

What the search engine giant essentially did was add all of Meet’s capabilities to Duo, rebranding it as the new Google Meet app for both iOS and Android.

Duo’s existing feature set remains untouched, meaning you’ll still be able to make video calls to your contacts using their phone numbers or email addresses. All of your conversation history, contacts and messages also remain. And you don’t need to download a new app. You just have to update the one already installed on your device to enjoy Meet’s features.

These include the ability to customise virtual backgrounds during calls and meetings, the use of in-meeting chat, content sharing, real-time captions and integration with Google’s suite of apps, such as Gmail, Google Calendar, Assistant, Messages and others. You’ll, of course, also be able to schedule and host meetings with up to a hundred participants.

“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,” explained Javier Soltero, Vice President and General Manager of Google Workspace, in a blog post. This in a way suggests Google is now looking to streamline its communication apps and make them less confusing for everyday users.

The old Meet app has been rebranded to “Google Meet (original)” and is staying for now. But expect it to be eventually phased out once Google completes the migration. The company said all Duo users should see the change by September. You can continue to use the old Meet if you want, but it won’t get ad hoc calls.

So in case your device now has two Google Meet apps, don’t be surprised – nothing’s wrong. Google is just in the process of merging the two apps.

Google has started rolling out the recently merged Meet and Duo app, essentially adding the former's capabilities to the latter's software and rebranding it as the new Google Meet.
Duo’s existing feature set remains untouched, meaning you’ll still be able to make video calls to your contact using their phone numbers or email addresses.
You'll just now have access to Meet's features when you use the app, including the ability to schedule and host meetings with up to a hundred participants.