Some of us will never understand how a company like Google failed to maintain and evolve Google Talk over time, betting instead on launching new messaging services that they had to withdraw some time later due to the lack of acceptance received.
And currently, it does not make sense to maintain two video call applications whose functions have overlapped, generating confusion among users, especially when due to the pandemic, huge amounts of effort have been invested in new video call options that allow users to be in contact with theirs.
As well, Google now chooses to merge Google Duo with Google Meet and thus maintain a single video call application instead of two, thus fulfilling what some already saw coming years ago.
In this sense, Google will incorporate the functions of Meet into Google Duo in the coming weeks so that later this year it will be renamed to Google Meet, thus avoiding users having to download another application, and in turn maintaining the assets of their communications.
To avoid confusion and keep two applications with similar functions
The timeline will be as follows:
In the coming weeks, we’ll add all the features of Google Meet to the Duo app, so users can easily schedule a video meeting at a time that’s convenient for everyone, or continue to use video calling to instantly connect with a person or group. . Later this year, we’ll be renaming the Duo app to Google Meet, our only video communications service on Google that’s available to everyone at no cost.
As many of you will remember, Google Duo is an application that was born in 2016 with the aim of being a simple app specifically for video calls, while Allo, its simple messaging application, did not come to fruition, so in 2019 it became part of the service cemetery that the company has been eliminated over time.
Google Meet, for its part, was the evolution of what was once the Hangouts video call service, also closed by Google a few years ago.
Hopefully after years of unsuccessful, with few exceptions, as is the case with Google Meet, the new merger can put an end to all the movements that the company has made in recent years, and that it will have these experiences according to today’s announcement:
- Customize virtual backgrounds in calls and meetings
- Schedule meetings so everyone can join at a time that’s convenient for them
- Use in-meeting chat for deeper engagement
- Share live content to enable interaction with all participants on the call
- Get real-time captions to improve accessibility and increase engagement
- Increase the size of video calls from a current limit of 32 to 100 participants
- Integrate with other tools including Gmail, Google Calendar, Assistant, Messages and more
It is now a matter of the merger taking place and users can already have an application they can trust, without fear of future changes in course set by Google.
More Info/Image Credit: Google
