Google may eventually merge Duo and Meet: Report

Google may eventually merge its two video calling apps Google Duo and Google Meet according to a report by 9to5Google.

The tech giant in May placed Duo, Messages, and Android’s Phone app under the leadership of G Suite head Javier Soltero.

After unifying the team, the existence of two separate video calling apps did not make much sense, Soltero announced to his employees according to the report. The plans for the merger of these two tools is codenamed “Duet” — a portmanteau of Duo and Meet, it said.

Google issued a statement to acknowledge the report stating that it will keep updating both these tools that will continue to coexist under Soltero’s leadership.

“We’re fully invested in Duo, which has seen astonishing growth during the pandemic. People around the world are relying on video calling more than ever, and we have no plans to interrupt that. We’ll continue to invest in building new Duo features and delivering a delightful experience for our users, customers and partners. We brought the Duo organization under Javier Soltero’s leadership in May, and it follows that we’re looking at ways that our video calling products can improve alongside one another,” Google said in its statement.

The report further said that the plans for the merger had come rather as a surprise to the team behind Duo as the app had garnered popularity amid the lockdown. Google in April and May had added a range of new features to Duo including support for group calls on the web, increased participant limit, a family mode and improved video quality.

The tech giant’s focus has recently shifted to Meet, turning it into a rival for Zoom.

Google earlier this week had also announced that it would be adding various updates to Meet as part of its Anywhere School initiative.

According to the 9to5Google report, if the transition happens, it will take at least up to two years for the two tools to merge. Google has no immediate plans to tweak Duo, it said.

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