Google merges Duo with Meet

Google is merging video calling app Duo with Meet. This makes Meet Google’s only chat and calling app. Duo users keep their conversations. They also get extra functionalities that are already in Meet, such as larger group conversations and virtual backgrounds.

Duo will merge with Meet sometime in the coming weeks, writes the company† Google Meet, which once replaced Hangouts, becomes the default video chat and calling app of the company, which regularly introduced, merged, discontinued and renamed social services in recent years. Google says it wants to bring all video software into one app. The company says against The Verge that merging should make it easier for users to reach each other.

According to Google, little will change for existing Duo users. The app will be renamed, but will continue to work. Users also keep their saved chat messages and contact lists. Meet’s functionalities, including group conversations, virtual backgrounds, and meeting scheduling capabilities, are housed in that mobile app. The current Meet app is getting a new name, Meet Original. The app will be phased out in due course.

Making the move to Meet also gives Duo users better integration with other Google products and third-party services. Meet is integrated into Gmail, Calendar and Assistant, and has integrations for Slack and Spotify, for example. The change will be implemented in the coming weeks, but Google hasn’t specified a specific date for it.