Google Duo and Meet merger explained!

[@ahmedalqassem]

If I knew the mess Google was going to make with their social apps 15 years ago, I would have chosen to go with iPhone. I used Google Talk, Waves, Chat, Hangouts, Allo, Duo, etc... Everytime you're finally happy with an app, they kill. Google Duo is their most successful social app in the past 5-7 years, still they decided to kill it for the unpopular Meet

[@renato6046]

Google meet is lot more popular than Google Duo

[@FernandoSabatino]

@@renato6046 No, it's not

[@Xfighter22]

Well, they're not killing it. Just rebranding. It's a dumb rebrand since duo was a much catchier name.

[@fpguim4]

Since Google killed their Reader RSS service, I've lost my faith in them.

[@fpguim4]

But I agree with Renato. Meet is more popular than Google Duo. Many people will start using this app for video calls due to the conference function. Unfortunately many people won't drop video calls on WhatsApp, which lags more.

[@oryanol]

This is actually bad, very bad. It took us years to finally get used to Google duo and adopt it. If they really wanted the merge to be successful, they'd have kept the name duo. More people known duo than meet. I complained about it on twitter and Google replied that I will like the new features, but the actual problem is the name change. It's impossible to recommend a product to people if it changes name all the time. WhatsApp has always been WhatsApp, Skype, Facetime and others kept their name and are known for that. In that same time frame we had hangouts, duo, Google meet...

[@darrensmall1133]

Google's naming scheme has always been a problem. Google Meet is probably the worst name for a simple video calling app. Apple hasn't had to change the name of facetime since it's conception.

[@drnimish333]

Absolutely correct. Agree with your opinion

[@camdobie]

Google meat.

[@Aaron.Rants.Reviews]

They should just combine everything and call it Hangouts, wait...

[@Stevenmc8602]

Yeah but facetime is for personal use while Google is trying to cater to personal and business... I personal think it's dumb to combine them but having 1 will be less confusing to a lot of people

[@darrensmall1133]

@@Stevenmc8602 I'm not even sure who was confused to begin with. It's just another bad decision on paper that will likely be executed poorly. You need a casual app and a business app.

[@logangarcia]

People don’t want to use Messenger for being in school just as much as they don’t want to use Google Meet for talking to friends

[@Joshua_Lawrence]

This was literally the only situation where I could vouch for Google having separate communication apps that serve a similar purpose And now they think it's a good idea to merge them...

[@kyb7795]

Duo was simple...I bet meet is a colorfull mess

[@Joshua_Lawrence]

@@kyb7795 Meet serves an obviously, completely different purpose and Duo was literally FaceTime for Android; to voluntarily make it more complex than that is something only a company like Google is capable of That isn't to say Meet is cluttered and messy, as it's a nice, clean set-up, but it's not gonna be as friendly for people who simply want to make a video call and leave it at that; they just need to get employees who knows how to market their services

[@papillrm]

@@Joshua_Lawrence "FaceTime of Android". Sort of. Because Android really doesn't have a full-fledged FaceTime app. But Duo is platform agnostic and has a PWA.

[@kevinh7597]

google try always to make simple things become difficult , why dont they make only all in one app like FACETIME like apple did......

[@xam7848]

@@kevinh7597 I think that's this... Google messages (iMessage) Google meet(iMessage)

[@itsyellow]

Meet should be rolled into Duo imo. Meet sometimes is really laggy and I missed lots of virtual classes. Duo was never knocked out once. Also Duo is cleaner

[@LarryAsberryJr]

I used to host a podcast using Hangouts. When that went away, it was much more difficult to use Google even though I was live streaming to KZbin. I need Google to step up its synergistic efforts and capitalize on all its software services in a meaningful way.

[@kevinh7597]

google try always to make simple things become difficult , why dont they make only all in one app like FACETIME like apple did......

[@JaredVonBaren]

I loved Allo, and it would have been a real competitive option to WhatsApp, but they just let it die. They didn’t even bother…

[@kyb7795]

And in 2027 Google meet will become "Google something"

[@ariansmovies]

We Google introduce to you, Google Hangouts (back to the future). 😂 😂 😂 😂

[@officialmsham]

Although there's google meet in Gmail

[@CybrMyth]

Google needs to get more consistent on software (no more than 1 app for a specific task like video or messaging) and their naming achemes

[@mwj9080]

I COMPLETELY AGREE

[@HakAtIt]

Uh, you mean like how hangouts did, with having Google voice (for sms/MMS) and the Instant messaging (internet messaging) with video built in, capable of up to many In a group? Literally they ripped it apart just to put it all back together.

[@MichaelBohemian]

It's A B testing in the real world. Only a company like Google has the money and capability to do that with cloud products. They're not in a rush bc they KNOW we're gold fish brains for the most part.

[@Shamshir_Shaikh]

Unnecessary lot of apps they have created.. calendar should be merged with gmail and Google chat now

[@encycl07pedia-]

@@HakAtIt Yeah. I loved (read: loathed) how they introduced Allo and Duo and decided that Hangouts was too good to allow it to compete with those new products... How about just add RCS to Hangouts and call it a day? No? That would make too much sense. I get the feeling that certain office climbers at Google need their own product and since they lack any originality they reinvent the same service with a different name and push out the old product.

[@ollieedwardes1461]

Duo and Meet are different enough to stay separate!

[@encycl07pedia-]

They should have kept the Duo name, but no, less apps are better than more apps. Video calling is still video calling whether you're doing it with 2 people or 100. There's no need to duplicate effort.

[@DarisT-qc1fw]

It baffles me to no end that a gargantuan entity like Google has been, and is still to this day, struggling to come up with a decent communication app.

[@Aaron.Rants.Reviews]

They had a decent one that a lot of people like and used: Hangouts. The problem was they couldn't retroactively monetize it without alienating it's entire user base, so they just killed it instead.

[@Mike_Hartman]

I think I'm the only person that misses Allo

[@kyb7795]

Scratching old wounds how dare you 😭

[@cacogenicist]

@@kyb7795 - Speaking of old wounds, the bastards never did bring the Bundle feature to Gmail over from Inbox by Google. Grr.

[@craigcasper6689]

I'm a vegetarian. Google is totally screwing me over now.

[@leetronix]

Why oh why do they keep changing / dropping / merging their names of same type services. They simply have no consistency with their products and that drives people away from their services. I wish they had the ability to just stick to a name and service and update it. It is not difficult, as much as I hate 🍏they at least have a consistent universal OS and App structure.

[@zetroc88]

google already had the best messaging service with the original hangouts

[@sharvay]

I'm not really sure whether this is a right move duo is a fairly straightforward app for casual videocalling, with friends and family meet has various features like admin privileges etc, which are needed for a workspace, but not for casual even duo rn is a bit crowded with weird filters, we just need an app to videocall someone with 5 buttons, end call, turn off mic, turn off video, add someone, captions and that's it, casual videocalling with friends is easy nugh

[@SILCowboy]

Honestly they should keep the Duo name as it's widely known to consumers but I'm glad they're finally merging them.

[@tuffgong79]

I miss having hangout as the only app I needed for messages and video calls. I never understood why they went away from it in the first place.

[@bertramharbour4166]

me too..its the best even today with all it limited functions..i still up load images just slowly and lower quality..but a simple practical all device service..im staying untill it stops

[@Musafeer360]

Like Google play music. I still miss the app. Now I'm on Apple music. The most close app

[@Aaron.Rants.Reviews]

Money. Google didn't have an effective way of monetizing Hangouts without alienating it's existing users. The same thing happened with Google+.

[@frankiegunnz8066]

@@Aaron.Rants.Reviews how so?

[@Aaron.Rants.Reviews]

@@frankiegunnz8066 with Google+ they had created a social media site with no advertising, and therefore no revenue. Once mainstream interest dwindled, it became a niche site with a fervent user base. Had Google implemented ads it would have alienated the only people who actually still used the website. So they just killed it instead. In a similar sense, the same thing happened with Hangouts, only with subscriptions, not ads. Google realized they would lose a large portion of their users if they suddenly started charging for features that used to be free. They realized it would be easier to simply create a new app with paid features and deprecate the previous free one. That way they get to announce it as a shiny "new" app and get money in their pockets.

[@carlomorischi3435]

I think it's a good idea to merge them, I really hope Google does a good job with the "triple" contact way with email + phone number + link, the risk is that nobody understands these different options

[@rollo200]

The 1hr limitation is a a bummer not sure desktop calls are affected

[@JaredVonBaren]

It isn’t hard. I truly am baffled that people who do like, FINANCIAL trades in the billions of dollars don’t know basic things like this…

[@fadyNUFC]

They will kill it in a few years... This is a cycle I'm fed up of it

[@encycl07pedia-]

@@rollo200 That's only for a single call for personal users. Who wants to spend more than an hour on camera with friends? Just talk to each other... Or, you know, call them right back.

[@MaglevM5]

Hate this! No! I speak to my parents literally everyday using Duo. This merger won't be fun! They've enjoyed having video calls with me on Duo. Whatever the transition of features is, I am not happy with this! Sigh!

[@John-lq2xl]

Google should just build Google meet into Google Messages

[@Darque.Lite74]

Just combine Google Meet, Duo, Chat, and Messages..

[@encycl07pedia-]

You mean Hangouts? Been there, killed that.

[@user-ov6om6fl6z]

Thank you for reminding me Google duo still exists.

[@DMcClain]

Absolutely hate this idea. I love the simplicity of Duo. I don't need the complexity of Google Meet. They should keep them seperate for those of us who just want to do one on one video calls. Not to mention when I have problems with Google Messages RCS, one of the solutions is to delete Google Duo account, enable RCS and then readd. It's a big enough of a pain having those two services tied and interlocked together. I can't imagine how this will work when they combine Duo and Meet.

[@4tun8nanette]

This! 100% Duo and Meet should be kept seperate.

[@Aaron.Rants.Reviews]

Here's the part no one is taking about: "You’ll still be able to make unlimited video calls on your phone with no time limits". If you read between the lines, that means unlimited time limits on PCs is dead once Duo and Meet merge. Everything that used to be free on Hangouts is slowly moving behind a subscription paywall.

[@KTY0_89]

So this is like the Google Play Music... KZbin Music merger

[@Aaron.Rants.Reviews]

Where the better app (Duo in this instance) is being killed off in favor of the one that requires a subscription for basic functionality? Yeah, it's exactly that unfortunately.

[@antjohnson9239]

I can't do a video call with my wife, and other people. Google screwed it up again. Duo was perfect as it was!!

[@dals2736]

I HATE the "Upgrade". I'm a quite frustrated as I write this. I recently had to update/upgrade the app, which I had been using daily for over a year. Since the update, I no longer get a full screen of the incoming calls, or it won't ring at all, causing me to miss important calls. I hate it!! I attempted to go through the appsettings to see if there's anything I could do to fix it, but was unsuccessful.

[@risilient]

I think they should call it Duet. hopefully if this goes well. they can merge Messages and Chat and b done with all the confusion and x number of apps doing the same thing.

[@kevinh7597]

exactly we want just ONE APP like facetime ! simplicity is the key

[@rogerklk]

I've heard they would, but Meet is a much more established brand, even more than Duo that's pre-installed.

[@rogerklk]

It might be like the already old New Google Pay, an app that's consolidated, that does it all, and feels bloated. Google Wallet seems like it's going to work, so I hope Meet gets it. From the shots, it looks thought out imo.

[@royfern100]

I would prefer meet over Google Duo, 1st privacy for number sharing 2nd I need an intimation before attending a video call 🤙

[@vishvanthsaravanakumar3078]

It’s going to be an year, and web version of google meet and duo isn’t fully merged. Except it got worse and confusing… Duo is now called “google meet calling” Google meet is continued to be called “google meet” Still 2 different websites but with same name and logo is damn confusing for non tech people

[@BG4life13]

NO! Just keep them seperate, Duo is for personal use and Meet for business. they're different enough to keep them apart, didn't Google learn from the failure which was hangouts?? it's like Apple murging FaceTime and Imessage..

[@ABoredCreative]

Okay, i wouldn't have said this but that isn't Juo, that's Duo! Google Duo. Every person out of UK can feel that for sure.

[@mwt5040]

Duo was a better name 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@brent225]

What about Gmail with meet already integrated

[@krugerknightowl]

I use meet for work account and duo on personal account. I don’t know how that will be managed. I can not switch between account on the go all the time and neither do I want work and private calls on the same app

[@FardinMirza]

So Google is finally fixing their mess? interesting This is a welcome change, Google is killing off KZbin go now duo too... I think for the first time they have a clear goal now to simplify things for the better

[@ulwur]

Maybe Dieter Bohn is making an impact!

[@rogerklk]

@@ulwur They were working on this before he got on. He also changed from soon to be working at Google to working on just very recently. I'm excited for what he can do though.

[@fadyNUFC]

Omg not again... This is a 3rd time... I'm so fed up... I rather use somthing else... Use to live duo but I'm fed up with Google keeps on killing my fav apps. 😡😡😡... Deleting duo now will never use Google apps... Horrible 😡😡😡

[@Riz_]

Thank you Damian for this explanation. I wish it meant more for me, but everyone I speak to uses Whatsapp. In spite of the fact I think Google Duo has better video quality and have told them so.

[@Musafeer360]

Nobody use WhatsApp anymore my friend. Especially for videos. 3verybody I know from all the all part of the world use google duo. Even for professional calls I use Duo. Meet is a mess. Who want to share a link to join a call?? It's not natural at all.

[@Riz_]

@@Musafeer360 Tell my family this. I tried to get them to use Duo but they all insist on Whatsapp.

[@rogerklk]

@@Musafeer360 WhatsApp is vital in countries like Brazil. When it and FB was down, business were deeply affected. Everyone of all ages, in loads of countries rely on WhatsApp. Then Meet is going to get the same few taps to call like Duo does.

[@QueenPurple82]

Trying to video call my sister and meet says put in calling mode. I have no idea what that is.

[@LeftyRas]

This is not good. Google duo is a lot easier to use compared to Google meet, plus meet is more about business more than talking to friends and family. smh

[@robm3063]

I want my simple video calling back. I don't need to have 50 people on a call. I tried to video call a family member, apple phone on his end, and I have to send a link. Guess what link doesn't work. I never had a problem with Duo.

[@parshakamarsh]

It'll all change again in a couple of years

[@swsf]

they should bring tem all together! i do not use meet, duo or what else, because every mate using somthing different. And of cause some are using iphones. So overall, i am using whatsapp for videocalls - it doesnt matter which pgone u are using and meet for working, because my company has a partnership with google

[@DamnGoodITGuy]

All this is just leading back to Hangouts, the best and most useful Google communication app ever.

[@Aaron.Rants.Reviews]

Except for the fact that features that used to be free (unlimited time, etc) will be behind a paid subscription.

[@aylansalas2603]

Duo now is Meet and Meet is Meet original

[@zubairhussain7866]

I hope they retain the call picture quality in duo. It is much clearer than competition such as WhatsApp

[@kingkal81]

They should have done this in 2020 😂 nobody wants to do much video calling anymore. I think people are ZOOMed out.

[@creole75]

That's all I see. Especially iPhone users. That and using the damn speaker phone. Every where every day. People just walk around with facetime on and crap. It's ridiculous. Nobody wants to hear all your business.

[@Musafeer360]

Video calls are the mainstream now. It's 2022. The world evolved. Deal with it!

[@amdguru34]

Just like tech companies, screw everything up. Duo was mostly easy, but this meet shit sucks. Stupid google

[@imalalittlewolf3080]

How do you delete it ??

[@LearningwithiXibby]

I missed duo

[@sgt-wd]

But meet is already merged with gmail?!

[@Aaron.Rants.Reviews]

Yeah the forced Gmail integration is really obnoxious, it makes the left side menu virtually useless for Email navigation.

[@jam6web84]

They changed their mind, they're now calling it "Gmeet".

[@oneheadlight8000]

This is the issue with android.. there is no cohesive focus.. it's just all over the place.. how many different messaging, calling, video conferencing apps are they going to make and have fall short in some way?

[@xoxofx5785]

Nice.. i hated duo in the past.

[@ICheat_ILie_ISteal]

Google like to fix things that isn't broken and make it worse... Like google map, hangout.

[@ksquared2618]

I was wondering what happened. This makes a lot of sense to me.

[@sveerdlov1917]

Stupid ad, difficult to follow. I will not be using this app or google in the future. You tube is just an advertisement racket now.

[@sanchitamondal5035]

but after clicking on the new call...the bottom most corner symbol is not available

[@LotusLotus1979]

All my Duo pictures and videos are gone 🤦🏾‍♀️

[@camdobie]

Does anyone use Duo?

[@jimmie_g]

Well it's on 5 billion Android devices and 9 million people have reviewed it. Then there's 1.7 million people who use it on Apple devices and have reviewed it on the app store. By the way, it's got a 4.8 out of 5 rating there, so not only do people use it, but people seem to really like it.

[@darrensmall1133]

@@jimmie_g yup...well say goodbye to all of that.

[@nikispencer9554]

Meet app doesn't have blurred background feature during video call...not happy about that.😡

[@Musafeer360]

I'm just worry about Duo downloaded 5 billion times on the app store. It is the iphone FaceTime nemesis. And Samsung bet on Google duo! But merging with Google meet will make things difficult and a real mess. We use Duo because it's minimalist and simple. Javier the Google guy for this project don't have a clue about how the people really use Duo. NOBODY WANTS GOOGLE MEET. NOT EVEN PROFESSIONALS! It's a waste of time and money. Zoom and Microsoft Team are used by the majority of companies. Normal People will be confused with this merge and will turn their back from it. Google always know how to mess up with their best apps. So if Google keep messing with their google users many people will be fed up of their attitude. Believe me on this! I ask Sundar Pichai the CEO of Google to reconsider this decision. I'm sure it's the most bad decision they will take. I don't leave comments. But enough is enough with Google decisions.... 😡

[@iamjorellr]

Nobody wants this!

[@ghosttaki8547]

Can't wait for Google failed son video chats

[@Ficho.]

I seriously think this is a bad idea.

[@vanguillerodevilas5450]

I cant even make a link to make my friends join since i we need to have a group study for our upcoming test

[@jamman7344]

Skypes failure should have been their success but damn did they just fail horribly

[@Max86421]

All Google nest hub max video calling features is broken 💯

[@TheWebjunky007]

And how long will this "project" last ? Look what happened to Hangouts or G+

[@kevinh7597]

like a lot persons i would like a alternative to whatssap (somethings not dependent from a number but from a mail adress) and i think google should merge google chat and google duo and google meet in ONE APP like FACETIME !!!! please google make things simple and clear ! impossible de send voice message , or video call with google chat....

[@catt3911]

And this is why folks use iPhone.

[@jimmie_g]

for every reason why folks use iPhone, there are 5 reasons why folks use Android lol.

[@catt3911]

@@jimmie_g which is why competition is amazing! I had android for years. iPhone just fits me for now.

[@Musafeer360]

Iphone users use google Duo. Because it's quality and easy to use. FaceTime work from iphone to iphone. And if you want to talk with an Android user, you'll get a link. Like Google meet. God it's so messy!

[@catt3911]

@@Musafeer360 very. But my friends wouldn’t even download Duo, that’s a big part of why I’m on iPhone.

[@Read_Heat_]

thank you for the video. Do you have any news about face unlock for p6 pro ?

[@ericoftheleefamily5625]

How do I privacy and security risk change ?

[@zmn.ridwan]

Google should merge duo with google messages

[@JTMVlogsofficial]

It will work offline like before

[@travismayes23]

I asked you guys on Twitter but you never got back to me. is the interface going to stay the same? I love Google duos interface it's so easy to use Google Duo. is it going to stay the same as far as the easy interface?

[@kyb7795]

I doubt it will

[@rogerklk]

There's screenshots in the article. It's fairly the same but more complicated for the added stuff. First row: 4 pictures. Duo like functionality to call from a single tap and as a number. Call now shows a chat, notes and reaction buttons before calling a contact. Second row: 4 pictures. Meet options under the new "New" fab button. It shows all contacts and a new section on top along the Duo group call feature, that is to "book" in Calendar or generate a link for a meeting. Seemingly when using a link, it calls from your Gmail account. TLDR, it's the same Duo and the same Meet as one.

[@pjsmith8219]

I am trying to switch my brothers contact phone number to his email. His email is in my contacts. How can I change it.

[@sissakoaboubacara-tontowu9933]

hello, I have a Google pixel 5a 5g smartphone can I charge the battery to 100% or what advice do you give me for my battery? Thanks a lot ♥️♥️💓💞

[@princeerick11]

Just do FaceTime lol

[@thecapitaldrey]

It's better they merge it, I barely use duo even though it came pre installed with phone. I disabled it.

[@kckepu]

60 minutes still 🤦🏾‍♂️🤬😡

[@jackharrison2785]

meet is a pain in the ass

[@bertramharbour4166]

don't want data hungry video chat with 100 others..simply voice call with just ONE family member..goole chat is awful is there an alternative

[@MSayeed]

Th fact the for regular people they have made video calling harder and worse

[@debbymcelroy2400]

Can I put google meet into my contacts the way I had Google duo

[@legitnoobrblx5228]

yes you can.

[@androidaddict951]

They should renamed it FaceTalk

[@defi_ramsay]

Yea for real meet sounds ridiculous

[@JASAAD]

I don’t Like ios but I have to be honest. Nothing beats FaceTime on iPhone

[@John-lq2xl]

Google Meet still not good as Apple’s FaceTime

[@LuGuang20]

Iphone user : I agree Android user : Good is mean everyone can access it So “Good” Video call chatting app is relative to user, but for me in malaysia everyone using meet because not all use ios, etc... But i hope google copy all the goody that facetime has (Brand that sell their service for low price copy from other high-end brand is good for poor people) This is my view because not all father can afford ipad for their children and for online class i think meet is the best... But pray for me, i really want ipad pro for my drawing hobby🥲

[@NegativoZ06]

did you ever use blackberry message? it was much better

[@mdkamal-om3xw]

ok

[@chitrarth]

Duo is a google bloatware 🤣🤣🤣 it comes pre installed on most Android phones so those high downloads are not actually downloads

[@jimmie_g]

isn't facetime preinstalled on every iPhone? Daggone bloatware lol.

[@Darque.Lite74]

In my opinion this is the best Decision Google has made in years, Duo was cool and so was Meet, but it didn't make any sense to have 2 video calling apps from one company...

[@LaRoche_]

Good thing

[@rodrigofloresujjjr8345]

Eeeala

[@luckypal3409]

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭old

[@bertramharbour4166]

you have never used duo..there is NO voice only just video which dose not work

[@KTY0_89]

I have Duo on my Pixel and it has Voice only along with the video option.

[@bertramharbour4166]

@@KTY0_89 ok ill check again but last year when i was looking hard for a hangouts replacment..i was more than surprised not to find voice chat at all on duo

[@Aaron.Rants.Reviews]

@@bertramharbour4166 after Google dismantled Hangouts and Zoom and Meet put features behind a paywall, I actually found myself back at Skype. It can handle large groups, include screen share, doesn't have a one hour time limit, and you can create permanent group link! Quality is not quite reliable as Hangouts used to be, but less blurry than Zoom.

[@bertramharbour4166]

@@Aaron.Rants.Reviews so no voice messaging app to be found?..my LTE &Only connection is too slow for reliable video..the audio is destroyed.. skype?? in the past..i signed up but to use it i had to send money first..on my pixel 3 & 4 messages is blocked until i move from hangouts..on this samsung just a reminder its closing..i hope hangouts stays a while longer..as only have email & thats the worst try sending a photo and nessage while walking ..on hangouts i do just that many times a day

[@Aaron.Rants.Reviews]

@@bertramharbour4166 Google Voice uses VoIP and calls are free (at least, in the US, not sure about the rest of the world) I do think you need to verify phone number though to get a free VoIP number so it's still a bit messy :/

[@mischanelson5408]

:D

[@larryjoe1357]

Waste of my time, show me how, not just talk about it.