With classic Hangouts on the go, Google today has two video calling apps. However, that’s one too many for the company, and sources familiar with the matter tell us that Google Duo will eventually be replaced by Meet.
What’s happening
This decision is the result of Google launching its consumer communications services – Duo, Messages, and Android’s Phone app – led by G Suite chief Javier Soltero. After the reunited team was made public in May, Soltero announced to employees that it makes no sense for Duo and Meet to coexist.
Following the rise of homework and distance learning, Google has aggressively moved to become a Meet a Zoom competitor. Like Duo, it’s now “free for everyone” to use the same brand and move on.
With all the focus on Meet, the new messaging chief chose to become the service of Google’s one video calling service for both regular and business customers. Internally, this is described as a merger of the two services called “Duet” – a portmanteau of Youo and Meet.
We are told by sources that this new direction and the diminished interest in building a dedicated consumer service came as a surprise to the Duo team.
History of a successful product
Google Duo was announced at I / O 2016 as half of the company’s new consumer messaging strategy to replace Hangouts. While Allo – Google’s text messaging service – floundered, Duo found great success as an app focused on video.
The service has since added group bans, a web client, the ability to send story-like audio and video messages, but remains very simple with a list of contacts you can tap to start a conversation. It’s integrated with Google Messaging and the Google Phone Dialer, while recently adding the ability to reach people via email address. For all intents and purposes, Duo’s pre-installed nature created Google’s FaceTime equivalent.
An update released in April introduced the AV1 codec for improving video call quality, built-in screenshots, larger groups, and the ability to store messages. Google followed that up in early May with a ‘Family Mode’, more virtual effects, invitations based on links and conversations with 32 people.
Sources have made clear to 9to5Google that at the end of this merge Duo is leaving, and that engineers who previously worked on the consumer product are now commissioned to Meet enterprise development, when the team leaves.
In fact, Meet use has skyrocketed in recent months in Duo. In early April, Google announced that peak daily usage of Meet grew by 30x with 3 billion minutes of video conferencing that month, and nearly 3 million new users daily. In addition, participation in daily meetings exceeded 100 million. In comparison, Google reported that Duo had an 8x increase in group calls in April, as well as 10 million sign-ups per week with a ten-fold increase in call minutes.
The future
For Google, Meet is monetized as part of G Suite from day one, while the popularity of Zoom shows that regular users are fine with using a business app for personal communication. The main difference in 2020 is how the public is now familiar with generating a link which they then send to others against having a direct list of contacts. The company has also been explicit about the importance of Meet by integrating it with Gmail.
Before the replacement takes place, the current plan has transferred several key Duo features for consumers to Meet. Sources tell us that this includes end-to-end encryption, contacting users for a video via phone number, and even 3D effects.
The pace of Duo development is slowing down after the introduction of group talks to the Nest Hub Max last month. More broadly, the development of the app is slower compared to other video calling apps. For example, Google this week provided a detailed timeline for upcoming Meet features.
Sources tell us that the timeline for this transition could take up to two years. Of course, development plans could change, but it does not happen in the full term. In the end, the current course sees the Duo app disappear and Meet shot to users in their place.
In response to our post, the company issued the statement below. As we reported, Google “has no plans to interrupt Duo’s current use with its current timeline. However, it says it will” invest in building new Duo features “, and we are currently aware of plans to add nice, seasonal face filters.
Finally, Google says it is “looking at ways our video-producing products can improve side by side” in a subtle nod to our report that the two services will not always remain independent in the future.
‘We are fully invested in Duo, which has seen astonishment growth during the pandemic. People all over the world are relying more than ever on video calls, and we have no plans to interrupt that. We will continue to invest in building new Duo features and delivering a great experience for our users, customers and partners. We brought together the Duo organization led by Javier Soltero in May, and it follows that we are looking at ways in which our video production products can improve side by side. ”
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