Expand / Someday, Google’s messaging line will look like this (assuming Google may stop launching competing products).
Ron Amadeo
The long-rumored merger of Google Duo and Google Meet is happening. Google officially confirmed the move yesterday, explaining in a blog post that the goal is to create a “unique video communications service” and that the Duo brand will disappear in favor of Google Meet.
While the Google Duo brand is dying, it looks like the Duo code base will continue to be the foundation of the new Google Meet. Google says “Duo’s existing video calling features are here to stay” for everyone, or continue to use video calling to instantly connect with an individual or group. At the end of the year, we’ll be renaming the Duo app to Google Meet, our communications service. unique video video on Google that is available to everyone at no cost “.
The move comes after Google unified its communications teams under Google Workspace Vice President and CEO Javier Soltero (author of the Google Blog post) in 2020. Google has not clarified what products are being unifying, but yes it should means that Google Hangouts, Google Meet, Google Chat, Google Messages, Google Duo, and Google Voice will live under one roof.
Announcements
Here’s a brief rundown of Google’s long history of communication apps: Google Duo was launched in 2016 as a standalone video chat app with a “companion” messaging app called “Google Allo”. Google had just failed in its attempt to buy WhatsApp two years earlier (Facebook made the $ 22 billion acquisition instead), so it fired its photocopiers for Google Allo, which was a direct WhatsApp clone. It used an SMS-based phone number ID instead of a Google Account, and was restricted to one device at a time, following the very different way Google works with WhatsApp.
Launching two communication apps at once seemed weird, but the idea was that Google could introduce Duo as a companion to WhatsApp and Allo. A business is typically expected to include video chat capabilities in their new messaging app, such as Hangouts or Facebook Messenger or (possibly) WhatsApp. Presumably, though, Google knew it couldn’t compete with the WhatsApp giant in chat, so a standalone video app was created, with a Whatsapp clone to accompany it. WhatsApp users can stay on WhatsApp to chat, but they can add this Duo app to their arsenal.