Just in time for Meet to eat its lunch
Video calls have taken on a new life over the past two years. Even as real-world meetups have become more common, being able to chat “face-to-face” with friends, family, and co-workers anywhere in the world at any moment is pretty useful. Google Duo is one of the best ways to place a video call on any device, and its popularity continues to pay off.
The app just surpassed 5 billion installs on the Play Store, making it one of a select few services to hit such a mark. Granted, Duo is a pre-installed app on most Android phones, which makes reaching this number just a little less impressive. It also doesn’t guarantee everyone’s using it — though, as the default app on Android for video calls, it certainly gets its fair share of use.
Duo launched at the same time as Allo, one of Google’s many attempts to create a rival to iMessage and WhatsApp. That said, Allo’s time on the Play Store ended in 2019 when the app shut down for good. Around the same time as that announcement, Duo managed to cross one billion installs, and it’s only continued growing ever since.
This milestone is occurring at an odd time for the app. In 2020, rumors suggested Google planned to merge Duo and Meet — its other video conferencing app — into a single platform. In December, we heard this plan had fallen through completely, with the company turning its full attention towards Meet. Meanwhile, Duo only received a handful of updates and new features last year, suggesting a Hangouts-style shutdown could be in its future.
We’ll have to wait and see what 2022 holds for the app, but considering how easy it is to use — and how long it’s already been around — we can only hope Google doesn’t ditch it just yet. If you haven’t tried out Duo yet, grab it from the Play Store using the link below.
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