Google said on Thursday that Google Duo and Google Meet, two of its video-calling applications, will be combined. The firm said that it will combine two of its popular video calling applications and merge the capabilities that are currently lacking. Google will begin introducing Meet capabilities to Duo in the coming weeks.
The corporation wants to make its communication services easier to use. "All of the Google Meet capabilities will be added to the Duo app in the coming weeks," the firm stated in a blog post, "so users can quickly arrange a video conference at a time that works for everyone or continue utilising video calling to instantly connect with a person or group."
This should not imply that Google Meet or Google Duo will have to be downloaded individually. Google has announced that the Duo app will be renamed Google Meet later this year. Google Meet will become Google's unified video communications service, available to everyone for free.
Duo has a number of new features, including group conversations for up to 32 people, doodles, masks, effects with family mode, and video calling compatibility across a variety of devices. In the following days, the missing functionalities will be added to Meet.
Since it was made available to everyone in 2020, Google Meet has added over 100 new features and upgrades. Virtual backdrops and effects, live captioning, and a simple UI are just a few of the new features.
According to Dave Citron, the director of products for Google's video products, the rationale for the merger is the former's expertise, especially beneath the hood. Citron told The Verge that the service is particularly popular in underdeveloped economies, where network access is scarce or inconsistent.
Google wants to provide all of the features of both of its applications. Meanwhile, the business emphasised that it did not want to leave any consumers behind when combining the two applications.