Rumor: Google wants to replace Duo with Meet in the long term

Google appears to be planning to discontinue its Duo video calling service and integrate the software into Meet. The decision may be a result of Google’s earlier decision to make the Meet video conferencing software available to everyone free of charge.

The internet giant has not yet announced the decision to the world, but 9To5Google has spoken with sources that are aware of the plans. According to those sources, the decision to Google would have been received with astonishment by the Duo team, which should from now on work on the business version of Meet. Google’s management would have decided that having two video calling applications coexist would not make sense. That decision is said to have been taken after the internal teams for chat and communication apps were previously merged within Google.

Internally, the project would be known under the code name Duet, which is a combination of the names Duo and Meet. The intention is that after integration Meet will be further developed for consumers and business users. However, Google first wants to ensure that popular Duo features find their way to Meet; this includes end-to-end encryption and 3d effects. Google would have taken about two years for the transition, according to the sources of 9To5Google.

In recent months, Meet has become significantly more popular as a result of the corona crisis. The software was initially part of G Suite, but Google recently made the service available to everyone for free, in competition with the popular video conferencing service Zoom.

In a response to 9To5Google, the internet giant says it has no plans to “disrupt” Duo usage, and that new features for Duo are still under development. Google does admit that it is looking at ‘improving the two video services side by side’.