The transition is still on, but this will help confused users in the meantime
The merger between Google Duo and Google Meet, while perhaps a necessary step, has been very confusing so far for everyone involved. Once the merger is finished, the old Meet app will be phased out, and what used to be the Duo app will become Meet. Google Meet branding finally came to the Duo app a few weeks ago. Apparently, though, the change is proving especially hard to handle for some Duo fans, because Google has brought back Duo’s old icon — at least for now.
Duo’s latest update, confusingly, has brought back the familiar blue launcher icon. It coexists with the new, four-color Meet icon that was just added, but tapping on either icon leads to the same app being opened. While you’d be forgiven for thinking the reversion was unintentional, it looks like this was very much a calculated move. Google told 9to5Google that it made the decision in order to help people who keep searching for Duo, and can’t find the app because the name changed.
The big rebrand is still happening, and the addition of this icon seems to be a transitional thing while people get used to the change. After all, when you tap the Duo icon, the new Google Meet experience, complete with the splash screen that explains the transition in detail, still shows up. Hopefully that means that people looking for Duo will start getting the message about what’s happening to their beloved app. Likewise, the icon in the original Meet app is still green, serving as a visual indicator that it will be phased out down the road.
The Duo icon should finally see its ultimate demise in a few weeks or months, once everyone is aware of the new, merged experience. For now, though, you’ll have two icons in your launcher for accessing the same app.
