Google Meet (original), meet Google Meet (formerly Google Duo)
Source: Google
How many messaging apps does Google want out there this hour? Guess we can’t be ashamed of all the trite jokes we nerds have made when the company seems to think putting its customers through the semi-permanent ordeal of transitioning between chat apps is an acceptable user experience. Hopefully it doesn’t screw up the merging of consumer-facing video messenger Duo with Google Workspace conferencing app Meet. It’s a multi-step process that’s just getting underway and it looks Google has put its next foot forward.
App repository APK Mirror has taken in a submission for version 172.0.464862022.duo.android_20220724.16_p4 of the app which replaces Duo’s indigo logo and name with Meet and Google’s quad-color camcorder icon. You can sideload the app with the above link (or seek further help if you need it from one of our handy guides).
For individual users, not much changes. There’s a new splash page sequence when you first open the “new” app and a reminder prompt which directs users to learn more from a Google Meet Help page. Other than that, if you used Duo for one-on-one encrypted video chats, you’ll now use Meet. You’ll still receive calls through your phone number and, if you’ve enabled it, your Gmail address.
If you’re signing onto “Google Meet (formerly Google Duo)” with a paid Google Workspace account, you’ll see the app’s interface as illustrated by the above tweet from Android Police founder Artem Russakovskii.
If you’re using the Workspace-oriented Google Meet app, it’ll still remain its own app for the time being and hold the modified “Meet (original)” moniker. This app will be deprecated at a later date, though.
If you receive the updated Duo/Meet app from the Play Store, you may see the app listed as “Google Meet (formerly Google Duo),” but it’s pretty much the same app as before. We sideloaded the new Duo/Meet app and was able to open it up through the Google Play Store where it was still feeding us the app as Google Duo. That may still be the case for most other users for the next few weeks as people on different tracks with different versions get updated.
