Meet’s now the primary focus for video calls
If there’s anything Google loves more than messaging services, it’s competing messaging services. We’ve seen it happen repeatedly with apps like Hangouts, Messages, and Allo, but the company’s video chat services are nearly as convoluted. Last summer, it sounded like the plan was to eventually combine Meet and Duo into one application, capable of handling both consumers and businesses alike. As we head into 2022, that’s no longer the case.
A new report from 9to5Google details Google’s waning interest in the idea of offering a single app for placing a video call. Internally, the plan was known as Duet — get it? — with a unified team of workers at the company operating throughout 2020 under the assumption that the two apps would merge into one product. Late last year, however, leadership for the two apps informed employees that the Duet team was shifting to focusing on Meet’s enterprise utilities, leaving behind any consumer direction altogether.
It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention to Meet’s continued development. The enterprise-focused app has had a busy year, complete with a full design overhaul, higher participant limits, live translated captions, and more. It even got Duo’s video backgrounds, a move that — at the time — seemed to signal further development on a combined platform that would gather tools from both apps. After today’s report, it seems much more likely it was a one-time transaction, not the first sign of a new service on the horizon. Meanwhile, Duo got a Material You makeover, a simplified home screen, and… well, not much else.
Google did deliver a statement to 9to5Google, listing all of the features and advancements that have come to its consumer-focused app throughout 2021. That said, it’s full of pretty minor tweaks and changes, especially compared to all of the attention Meet has gone through this year. Hell, just look at our coverage of both apps throughout the last twelve months. While Google Meet gets a new update at least once per month, Duo has stood mostly untouched.
Video chat apps were essential for consumers and businesses alike throughout 2020, but there’s been a noticeable shift during the last twelve months. While many workers remain at home or in hybrid office environments, many friends and family members have returned to meeting up in person, whether it was over the summer or ahead of the holidays. Even with the pandemic far from over, it’s obvious the focus has shifted from bringing friends and family together virtually to ensuring businesses can function in remote, safe environments.
Of course, this leaves Duo with an unclear future. Will it linger around as a rarely-updated-but-beloved app, a la Google Voice, or will it be hit with a prolonged shutdown like Hangouts? As we’ve seen with the company’s previous messaging strategy, anything’s possible.
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