Inside sources reveal that Google may eventually replace Duo with Meet in the coming months, and all the features of Duo may be ported to Meet when it happens. With this decision, it is certain that Hangouts may have to go anytime soon, and this development comes under the leadership of Javier Soltero who heads GSuite and under whose authority Duo, Messages, and Android’s Phone app come.
Following the phenomenal rise of Zoom as a video-conferencing and home-learning application during the COVID-19 pandemic, Google is aggressively working to position Meet as a global choice for video calling, so as to displace Zoom and other competitors. Since Zoom is free for most users, Google also plans to make Meet free for regular and enterprise customers so as to beat competitors.
Since Duo replaced Allo, it is expected that Meet will take over where Duo reached because both are essentially video-calling applications. Meet has however been added to Gmail so that people can make video calls from their Gmail on the web, while Duo recently added group calling, audio and video messaging, as well as contacting people through emails.
To prove that Meet has a future with Google, the application witnessed three billion minutes of video meetings in late April and added three million new users each day, while the number of people using Meet in daily meetings exceeded 100 million. On the other hand, Duo saw 10 million new users per week that same period with a 10x boost in call minutes.
Given that Google announced their plans to keep investing in Duo and adding new features, analysts believe its suspension for Meet may be in the next two years. At the moment, insiders said the tech company intends to add end-to-end encryption, 3D effects, and calling users on phone for a video meet, among other updates.
“We’re fully invested in Duo, which has seen astonishing growth during the pandemic,” Google wrote. “People around the world are relying on video calling more than ever, and we have no plans to interrupt that. We’ll continue to invest in building new Duo features and delivering a delightful experience for our users, customers and partners. We brought the Duo organization under Javier Soltero’s leadership in May, and it follows that we’re looking at ways that our video calling products can improve alongside one another.”
Source: 9to5google.com
