Google has officially announced that its two video conferencing apps, Google Duo and Google Meetwill disappear as separate platformsduo will be integrated into Google Meet, being this the one that will survive within the plans of Alphabet (Google’s parent company) to unify different platforms.
Google Meet will remain as the single application for videoconferencing in the Google ecosystem
In this regard it is worth remembering that Google Meet was already integrated into Gmail in the summer of 2020, becoming a kind of “Facetime” of Google that allows you to call directly to one of your contacts, but also assuming the Zoom-style functions offered so far by Meet, a platform specialized in group videoconferencing.
The steps in the merger of the two platforms are somewhat complex, since initially Duo users will have an update available that will add some of the features now offered by Meet. In a next step Duo will change its name (and appearance) to be renamed Meet. The current Google Meet will be renamed “Meet Original” and will progressively stop receiving updates until it will disappear completely at some point yet to be determined.
The change has its logic since the Duo denomination seems to leave out the reference to a communication between more than two users, while Meet does expand more the possible scope in terms of number of interlocutors participating in the communication.
Within Google’s confusing policy of applications and communication platforms, it is worth remembering that Google Chat still survives, which inherits the position of Hangouts, without ruling out that at some point its functions could also be integrated into Meet.
This would result in a truly unified instant communication platform that would combine chat, voice calls over the Internet, video conferencing between two users or video conferencing between multiple users.
