Google Duo and Meet merger was announced in June.
Google has started rolling out the Duo-Meet merger to a handful of Android and iOS users, reports highlighted.
According to a report by 9to5Google, all Android and iOS devices running version 170 feature the “Duo is getting even better” card at the top of the new home screen.
“Google updated the original Meet app with a new green icon and now refers to it as “Meet (original)” on Android,” the report stated. “The next step will see the Duo app renamed to “Google” Meet with that existing icon/branding.”
For Duo, the company on its support page said, “Google Duo has been upgraded to include both video calling and meeting capabilities.” The current video calling features on Google Duo remain and in addition to that, users “can schedule, create, and join a meeting” and also get access to Google Meet’s suite of meeting features and capabilities. Users will not have to pay anything for the new experience.
Primarily, the Google Meet app was designed to cater to businesses and was more like an alternative to Zoom and Teams. Duo, on the other hand, is more personal and the company’s FaceTime-like platform for Android smartphone users that provides them with the option to video call the ones in their contact list.
The American tech giant announced to merge the two apps into a single video calling platform in June. The company also said that there is no need to download a new app and existing Duo users can simply ensure that they have the latest version of Duo installed on their device.
“Later this year, we’ll rename the Duo app to Google Meet, our single video communications service across Google that is available to everyone at no-cost,” it said.
