Google has announced that it is preparing to replace Duo, its video calling service, with Meet, its video conferencing service. The coronavirus pandemic had headed to a massive increase in demand for video conferencing services since offices were shut down and people were working form their homes. Video conferencing app Zoom became an overnight sensation leading to millions of downloads during the February-March period. Google Meet had risen as Zoom's competitor in the segment. G Suite head Javier Soltero has now chosen to make Meet Google's one video calling service that provides to both regular and enterprise customers.
At Google, this project of merging the two apps is being called Duet (Duo and Meet), according to 9to5Google. Google is planning to bring several key features from Duo over to Meet to enhance the capabilities of the app. The duo will then slowly be phased out.
Soltero has told Google employees that having both Duo and Meet does not make sense when a singular app can perform both their functions. Soltero wants to make Meet the one service for both enterprise and regular customers.
This announcement by Solterao came as a shock to Google employees working on Duo, according to 9to5Google. Duo has been regularly releasing updates for the last few years. After its Merger with Meet, Duo will no longer exist and the team working on it will handle updates for Meet.
Currently, there is no fixed timeline for this transition, but according to 9to5Google sources, it could take up to two years. However, Google has stated that its merger plan does not mean that they will completely abandon Duo until the merger is complete.
According to a statement given to 9to5Google, Google is "fully invested in Duo" and that it will continue to invest in "building new Duo features and delivering a delightful experience for our users, customers, and partners." It adds that Google is looking at ways to improve its calling services alongside one another.
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