Google starts merging Google Duo, Meet for Android, iOS users

Google, last month, announced that it was unifying its video calling experience by merging its Google Duo and Google Meet platforms. At the time, the company had said the unified app would give users with ‘a single solution for both video calling and meetings with people across their lives’. At the time, the company had also said that in the coming weeks, it would bring Google Meet’s top features to Google Duo. Once that integration is complete, Google Duo would be renamed as Google Meet and it will be a single video communications solution from the company that will be free to use for everyone.

Now, almost two months later, the company has finally started rolling out the update to Google Duo users on Android and iOS. As per a report by 9To5 Google, Google has started rolling out an update to its Google Duo app that brings the two platform closer to merger. The company has started rolling out version 170 of the Google Duo app on Android and iOS that brings a new card within the app that says, “Duo is getting even better”. “Your Google Duo Duo app will become Meet, with a new name and icon and more features like background effects,” the card in Google Duo says. Google Duo users can either tap the ‘Got It’ button to dismiss the notification or tap the ‘Learn More’ button to know details about the change.

With this change Google Duo will remain Duo while getting features from Meet that will make the new and updated platform useful for both personal and professional usage.

In the coming weeks, Google should roll out more such updates to Google Duo that would bring features such as the ability to customise virtual backgrounds in calls and meetings, scheduling meetings so everyone can join at a time that’s convenient for them, using in-meeting chat for deeper engagement, live sharing content to enable interaction with all participants on the call, getting real-time closed captions to better support accessibility and boost participation, increase in the size of video calls from a current limit of 32 to 100 participants and integration with other tools, including Gmail, Google Calendar, Assistant, and Messages — something Google had mentioned while announcing the change.

Later in the year, Duo should get a new name and a new logo, which is when the merger will be complete.

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