Google is reportedly planning to discontinue its video calling app Duo in favor of Meet, which has grown rapidly in wake of the coronavirus pandemic. That’s according to a new report on 9to5Google citing sources familiar with the matter.
According to the report, Google’s decision to phase out Duo is part of the company’s bigger plans of unifying messaging and communication apps under G Suite VP Javier Soltero. Soltero allegedly informed employees that Duo and Meet co-existing doesn’t make sense.
Going by the report, Google will merge Duo and Meet. The effort to do so is internally codenamed Duet. Before entirely discontinuing Duo, Google will reportedly bring several key features of Duo to Meet, including end-to-end encryption, phone number support, and 3D effects.
The transition, however, is not expected in the near future. As per 9to5Google‘s sources, the software giant could take up to two years to sunset Duo. If this happens in reality, Google Duo will become yet another chapter in Google’s infamous book of discontinuing successful products and merging it with less interesting ones, just like it did with Inbox by Gmail.
“We’re fully invested in Duo, which has seen astonishing growth during the pandemic. 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,” a Google representative told 9to5Google.
