What you need to know
- The initial phase of Google's effort to integrate Duo into Meet has begun.
- A few users are seeing a new card in Duo, informing them that the app will be renamed Meet.
- Google Duo will embrace Meet's branding and icon in late 2022.
Google announced last month that it would start folding Duo into Meet in the coming months, and the company is now making good on that promise.
The search giant appears to have started rolling out the first phase of its plan to turn Duo and Meet into a single app. 9to5Google notes that users with the latest version of Duo are now greeted with a new alert on some of the best Android phones. When you launch the app, a new card appears just below the search bar informing them of the changes.
The message reads: "Your Duo app will become Meet, with a new name and icon, and more features like background effects." It should be noted, though, that it's not live yet for everyone.
Apart from signifying the arrival of major changes to Google's video calling service for consumers, the alert also includes a link to a Google Duo Help page that details every major change and which features will stay in place.
Duo will eventually adopt Meet's features through updates, including in-meeting chat, virtual backgrounds, live captions in a video call, and visual effects. Users will also be able to start a call with up to 100 participants.
You'll also have options to create a new meeting and set a schedule in Google Calendar — features that are carried over from Meet. As noted by 9to5, these options show up when you tap the "New" floating action button.
Despite these changes, Duo will keep some of its best features, including the ability to make calls via a phone number or email address, send messages, use filters and effects, and ask Google Assistant to make a call using existing devices.
Google says the Duo app will be renamed Google Meet by the end of this year. You'll only need to sign in with a Google account to try out the new features. However, you won't be able to create a meeting using accounts created with only a phone number.
