Highlights:

  • In June, Google will integrate its consumer Duo video chat service with Meet, a Zoom business competitor, in June. Today is the second integration phase.
  • Google will provide an upgrade to the Duo app for Android and iOS that includes the new Meet logo and an in-app notification that explains what’s occurring.

Google had notified in June that it would begin integrating its Duo video chat service for consumers with Meet, a Zoom competitor for corporate users. The second phase of this integration has started today.

Combining two applications would always be a difficult task. Add to all the uncertainties around Google’s messaging strategy, and you can picture how this appears. However, what Google is essentially doing here is moving all the Meet features to the Duo app and rebranding Duo as the upgraded Google Meet app.

In preparation for the transition, Google began integrating more of Meet’s features to Duo in July, while Meet received an upgrade and a new green symbol.

The app for Google Meet is now known as “Google Meet (original).”

Google will provide an upgrade to the Duo app for Android and iOS with the new Meet logo and an in-app notification that explains what’s occurring.

It’s important to note that you’ll need a Google account to access these conference services, as the Duo app already has Meet’s conferencing capabilities.

Come September; all users will see the new Google Meet icon and the app’s name. Installing Meet from Google’s Play Store or Apple’s App Store thereafter will result in the latest Google Meet app (formerly Google Duo), combining video calling and conference capabilities.

You can continue to use the (original) Google Meet app for the time being; however, you will not receive the new ad hoc bubble capabilities. Eventually, though, Google will remove the original app. Google states, “We’ll let you know when to move to the new app experience.”

Today, if you use Duo on the web, you will see the new logo, but nothing else will change. It will be some months before the Duo website references Meet.